– It is practice that when special situations arise, you understand it, says Marianne Borgen (SV). The mayor of Oslo is the head of the election board in the capital. On 25 May, they decide whether Lars Petter Solås should be removed from the Frp’s electoral list in Oslo. Something Solås himself wants. He is the Frp’s first candidate in the capital, but is excluded from the party because he threatened and harassed journalists at a party at the Frp’s national meeting. But now there are doubts as to whether he is allowed to withdraw from the electoral list. Must stand for election For: everyone who is put up on electoral lists in Norway and does not request an exemption before the deadline, must accept that they are candidates and can be elected. In Oslo, the deadline was 2 May. A date that the municipality itself has set. But: The municipality has not regarded that deadline as absolute. Because the Electoral Act also states that electoral lists must be approved by 1 June. Therefore, Oslo has said that they can process Solås’ application at the election board’s meeting on 25 May. – He will get an approved exemption from the list. I am almost certain of that, says Borgen. Lars Petter Solås is the first candidate for the FRP in Oslo. But he doesn’t want to be. Photo: Andreas de Brito Jonassen / news Have to say no? Oslo’s stance has caused confusion elsewhere in the country. In a letter from Steinkjer municipality, they ask the government to clarify what is legal. They themselves have rejected applications that have arrived too late, according to the letter. In its response, the ministry goes so far as to say that it is not allowed to accept applications for exemption from electoral lists that have arrived after the local deadline. But there are some exceptions. If the reason why the application for exemption comes so late, things are beyond the candidate’s control. – Examples of such conditions are incorrect or insufficient information from the public or force majeure-like conditions, such as storms, says Siv Dolven in the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs to NTB. Beyond this, applications must be rejected, she says. – Everyone benefits from this. It is unclear what it means for whether Solås can be removed from the list. Director Lars Arne Ryssdal in the city council’s secretariat says they will look carefully at the letter from the ministry before the meeting on 25 May. – We will come back to what kind of assessment we make, says director Lars Arne Ryssdal in the city council’s secretariat. The municipality’s view has been that Solås’ case falls within the exemption requirements in the law. – We have probably meant until now that the fact that Solås has been excluded from his party must come under such an exception provision, says Ryssdal. He says the municipality has also previously made such exceptions. Solås himself wants to be removed from the list. The FRP wants the same. It is also part of the assessment, Ryssdal believes: – All parties, both the voters and the parties, benefit from the fact that an exception can be made here. Lars Arne Ryssdal is director of the city council’s secretariat in Oslo. He says they must now assess what the ministry’s letter means. Photo: Right
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Mayor Marianne Borgen believes Lars Petter Solås can be removed from the Frp’s list in Oslo – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
