When the votes were counted, it was clear: Venstre received 363 votes and won the election. The Labor Party got 136 votes, the Socialist Left got 120 and the Conservatives got 113 votes. 54 people voted blankly. It became clear on Monday evening. – Reminder that it is a preliminary count. We are going to do a fine count and then we are going to go over absentees, postal votes, says Arild Olsen, local board chairman in Longyearbyen. 20 votes have been set aside and will be counted in due course. The final result will be clear tomorrow when the local election board meets and adopts the final result. Terje Aunevik is Venstre’s 1st candidate for the local council in Longyearbyen. Photo: Ida Louise Rostad / news When the advance votes were counted at 9pm on Monday evening, Venstre had received the most votes: They received 160 of the advance votes. The Labor Party got 62, the Socialist Left got 60 and the Conservative Party got 57. 21 people voted blankly. There are 1,419 eligible voters in Longyearbyen. 380 pre-voted. 426 voted on election day. This gives a support of 56.8 per cent. – 56.8 per cent in support, which is a decrease from 2019, says Olsen. Left-wing election vigil in Longyearbyen. They were at the Stationen restaurant together with the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. Photo: Pål Hansen / news The local board consists of 15 members. Today’s local government consists of: the Labor Party (5), the Liberal Party (4), the Conservative Party (3), the Progressive Party (2) and the Green Party (1). Arild Olsen (Ap) is chairman of the local board. Read more about the local government here: Longyearbyen local government Svalbard is part of Norway, but is neither a county nor a municipality. Nevertheless, in 2001 it was decided to introduce a local democracy through elections to a local board. The local council corresponds to a municipality on the mainland and is responsible for a number of services to the residents. When the local government was established, most of the residents had a connection to a mainland municipality. This is not the case today. Today, the local board has 15 members, from the Labor Party (5), the Liberal Party (4), the Conservative Party (3), the Progressive Party (2) and the Green Party (1). – Hope everyone goes to the polls and votes Olsen says that there are different framework conditions on the island community than there are in a municipality on the mainland. The fact that many foreign nationals live on Svalbard helps to leave a special mark on the town and the dynamics of the local community. – We are perhaps also more affected by the security policy situation that we now have in the world. Local board chairman in Longyearbyen, Arild Olsen. Photo: Pål Hansen / news One third of the residents of Longyearbyen are no longer allowed to vote on election day. It has caused several reactions. Olsen tells news that he does not ignore the fact that someone did not vote in this year’s election, as a protest against the new rules. – I hear rumors about it, but I hope not. I hope everyone who is eligible to vote goes to the polls and votes, because votes are important anyway – even if the proportion who can vote has decreased. Celine Anderssen, 1st candidate for the Conservative Party in Svalbard, thinks it is sad that so many people have lost the right to vote. – Many have lived in Svalbard longer than I have. Being disenfranchised I think is sad for them and us. They are part of society, says Anderssen. New rules have caused reactions One of those who are reacting is the leader of the Longyearbyen youth council, Tine Westby Thorstad. – We have young people who have lived here all their lives and who have been looking forward to voting in local elections. They can’t do that now, says Tine. Previously, those who had lived on the island group for three years could vote in local elections even if they were not Norwegian citizens. The government tightened the regulations last year, partly because many more foreigners have moved to Svalbard. Now you must have lived in a Norwegian municipality for three years to be able to vote if you are a foreign citizen. – We think it is important to make a change, because we have to make sure that we have control on Svalbard. That is what the Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp), says. She was on Weekend Morning on Sunday. Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp). Photo: Nuno Duarte / news Longyearbyen has approximately 2,600 inhabitants. One third of these are foreign nationals. Swedish Olivia lost her right to vote overnight. The party MDG could not submit a list at the local elections in Longyearbyen due to new election rules.
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Election result Svalbard – news Troms and Finnmark
