– Nobody wants a re-election, but when the mistake is so big, with consequences like this, a re-election is right, I think, says Svein Kenneth Stensrud. He is the local leader of the Industrial and Business Party (INP) in Moss. Now the party is demanding a by-election in Østfold. County electoral lists for the party were missing from a polling station in Moss for seven hours on election day. Local leader of the Industrial and Business Party (INP) in Moss, Svein Kenneth Stensrud, believes that re-election is appropriate when the system fails. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen It was a voter who wanted to vote INP who discovered the mistake. All the booths in Ryggehallen, where approximately 3,000 people voted, must have had the same defect. – Due to an oversight, the ballot papers for the Industrial and Business Party were not put up. It’s sad and stupid. But human error can always occur, says Inger-Lise Skartlien, election officer in Moss municipality. Four days after the election, INP sent a letter of complaint to the electoral boards in both Moss and Østfold that the lists were missing. The Conservative Party became the largest party in the county council election in Østfold, narrowly ahead of the Labor Party. But the red-green parties Ap, Sp, SV, MDG and Rødt got the INP and the Pensioners’ Party together in an electoral cooperation. Thus, it is Sindre Martinsen Evje (Ap) who will become the new county mayor when Østfold is resurrected. Moss Avis mentioned the case first. Recommends handling complaint INP secured one mandate in the county council. But if they had received seven more votes, they would have received an additional mandate. This can fulfill the requirements set by the Electoral Act for a by-election. According to what news learns, the county election board will on Wednesday recommend to the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs (KDD) to accept the complaints. If the appeal is upheld, a consequence may be a re-election, either in Moss municipality or the whole of Østfold. – It is true that people may vote differently in a by-election, but the most important thing is that people have confidence in the electoral system, says INP leader in Moss Stensrud. This is how complaint processing works The complaint must be processed by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and District Affairs (KDD), which is the appeal body. The county election board is responsible for preparing the matter and ensuring that it is as well informed as possible before the ministry’s consideration. In its processing, the county electoral board must make a recommendation to the ministry if they believe that the complaint should be upheld. The County Electoral Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government and Districts after the County Electoral Board’s meeting on 27 September. The Ministry of Local Government and Districts will process the case and make a decision. The decision is sent to the county election board in Østfold If the appeal is upheld and a re-election is decided, the county council will ask the Ministry of Local Government and Districts to provide a description of how the county council will proceed with regard to re-election, and a constituent meeting in Østfold county council. The county council in Viken will possibly function until by-elections have taken place and the new county council has been constituted. 40 years since the last by-election, Thor Hals (H) fought to become the first county mayor in the “new” Østfold county municipality. He says they are ready to roll up their sleeves if there is a re-election. – We have now seen that INP has chosen to cooperate with SV and Ap. There are probably many who voted INP who didn’t see it coming, so the voters may now vote differently if there is a re-election, says Hals. Thor Hals (H) does not necessarily think the result will be what some might want, if there is a re-election to the county council. Photo: Lars Håkon Pedersen / news It is 40 years since by-elections were last held after a municipal council and county council election. Electoral researcher Bernt Aardal believes that the possibility of a re-election is now great. – The threshold is high for re-election. There must be a reasonably clear picture that the irregularity has actually affected the allocation of mandates. But in this case, there are so few votes that make a difference and the lists were missing for several hours, says Aardal. However, the election researcher believes it may be difficult to mobilize voters. – It depends on whether the re-election has to be held in the entire county, or whether it is only in those constituencies where the irregularity has occurred. In general, I think it can be difficult because people have put the election behind them. The county election board cannot yet say anything about how a possible re-election will be carried out in practice, and the costs associated with this. – This is a demanding case, and no one benefits from us speculating on outcomes or possible consequences before the county electoral board has dealt with the case, and we know the outcome of the ministry’s assessment, writes Rune Fredriksen (Ap), head of the county electoral board in Østfold, in a press release. If KDD upholds the complaint about re-election, the county electoral board will ask the ministry to extend the deadline for constituting a new county council in Østfold.
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Missing ballot papers in Moss – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
