On the night of Tuesday, there was jubilation at Høgre in Bergen. It was clear early on that they became the city’s largest party and that Christine Meyer (H) must look for partners for the city council. It gradually became clear that she was going to have to work with many people if she was to have a majority city council. But more than half a day later, the fine count creates uncertainty. Only 30 votes are needed before the Liberal Party hijacks one of the mandates from the Right. In addition, there are 2,000 votes that have not yet been counted. These could turn the whole outcome upside down because it could lead to the left still being able to scrape together a majority in the western capital. On Tuesday evening, there will be a lot of talk. The last preliminary votes in Bergen must be counted. Electoral officer Ida Rambech (th) says votes can come in right up until 5 p.m. the day after election day. Photo: Øyvor Bakke Must do far better But Ap must also assemble a broad coalition if they are to have power: If they cooperate with Venstre, SV, Raudt, Sp, KrF and MDG, it may be enough to take back power in Bergen. The 2,000 votes are advance votes that come from various municipalities elsewhere in the country. The last votes have arrived in Bergen. Photo: Øyvor Bakke These are so-called “late advance votes” that the municipalities can accept right up until 5pm the day after the election. – At 5 pm I start counting the votes, first manually and then by machine, says Ida Rambech, electoral officer in Bergen municipality. Ida Rambech, electoral officer in Bergen municipality Photo: Øyvor Bakke But for the 2,000 votes to actually change the result, the Liberal Party must do far better among them than they have done otherwise in the election. Open for a rematch Most likely, the 2,000 votes will not turn the election result upside down, and Meyer will have to work on gathering a governing majority. But she faces a real challenge, because all the partners in question have very strong opinions about a very central issue: the light rail. The citizens of Bergen have said in opinion polls that they do not want a rematch for the light rail. In May this year, the historic decision was made: The light rail will go over Bryggen and not in a tunnel. Then the hope was that construction would start in 2025. The next challenge would be the fight for the money. The discussion has continued for 12 years, but now the final sentence may be blurred. Before the election, Christine Meyer from Høgre clearly said that it was not relevant to have a new light rail round. But on election night, when only half of the votes had been counted, she opened the door for a rematch. – Maybe she makes everyone unhappy. Both those who trusted this guarantee, but also those who are very dissatisfied that she gave this guarantee in the first place, says election researcher at the University of Bergen, Yngve Flo. – Bybanen as an almost sacred cow That Meyer can become unpopular is not his only opinion. Political commentator in Bergens Tidende, Gerd Tjelflåt, is excited about where the power struggle will end. – Basically, there is a large majority in favor of leaving the light rail issue alone. If Meyer decides on a full rematch, I think she will get quite strong reactions to it from many of the other parties, she says. Gerd Tjeldflåt is a commentator in Bergens Tidende. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / news She thinks it could be four difficult years in the city council. Sølve Rydland, political editor at Bergensavisen, describes the situation that Meyer and Høgre have found themselves in as “incredibly difficult”. – All the parties with whom Høgre will hold talks in the next few days have in practice given ultimatums about what they think about the light rail route, he explains. On one side are MDG, Venstre and KrF. – They have the urban rail system as an almost sacred cow that they stand by. On the other side are the Bergenslisten, the Industrial and Business Party, the Center Party and the Pensioners’ Party. – They are equally categorical that they do not want the light rail along Bryggen. – Significant consequences If there is a rematch and the city council ends up changing the route, it entails a great deal of bureaucracy. County director in Vestland county municipality, Rune Haugsdal, believes that there may be consequences for the progress of both planning, engineering and financing. – It has consequences. Significant consequences. From earlier in the light rail debate, route alternatives exist, but it is uncertain whether they are relevant and can be used. He does not want to speculate on how long it will take to clarify that. – Bergen municipality is the regulatory authority, but history has shown that discussions around both the route and planning plan have taken time in connection with the light rail. A similar effect to the EU case Valforskar Flo shows that Meyer does not have the best starting point when she tries to assemble a city council. He says the urban railway case has a similar effect on urban policy as the EU case has on a national level. Yngve Flo is an election researcher at the University of Bergen. Photo: Adrian Nyhammer Olsen When the matter is brought up to date, it destroys what would otherwise be “natural alliances”. – Now I see that this is an issue that will not leave us anytime soon. The light rail has been a central political issue in Bergen for 12 years, but the history goes back even further. Hear more in the podcast “Enough for itself”.
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Advance votes received late can change the election result in Bergen – news Vestland
