The case in summary • The Sámi Parliament is considering removing people who have given incorrect information about their Sámi affiliation from the number of voters. • This happens after news revealed that several so-called “fake Sami” had obtained the right to vote in the Sami parliamentary elections. • A man news has chosen to anonymise has admitted to having stood for election to the Sámi Parliament without being Sámi. The man’s registration was approved by the Sami Parliament. • The Sámi Parliament has now decided that the plenary leadership will be authorized to carry out its own investigations of the number of electors. • The Sámi Parliament has also decided to publish more information about the criteria for standing in the electoral roll, so that these are made clear to people who might want to apply. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In a big city, we meet a man in a café, whom we have chosen to anonymise. He has stood for election to the Sámi Parliament, even though he is not Sámi. Four years ago, on the Sámi Parliament’s registration form, he ticked off that he considers himself Sámi, and wrote that he had a Sámi great-grandparent. The Sami Parliament approved the application. – I never thought this would work. I expected someone to call me or ask critical questions, but it never happened, says the man to news. What was supposed to be just an invention suddenly became serious. Now he was to both vote in the Sámi parliamentary elections and stand for election. More about how it went further down in the case. – But why did you apply? – I was adventurous and sort of… No, it’s that I’ve always come up with pranks and weird things, he says. news has chosen to anonymize the man, because he fears the consequences the case may have for him. More non-Sámi in the number of voters In 2022, news revealed that several so-called “false Sámi” had obtained the right to vote in the Sámi parliamentary election. It was about the fact that non-Sámi had been approved in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll. Several of those news spoke to admitted that they did not perceive themselves as Sami. This violates the criteria for standing in the electoral system. Criteria for joining the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll To be able to vote in the Sami Parliament elections, you must be included in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll. Everyone who declares that they perceive themselves as Sami, and who either a) has Sami as their home language, orb) has or had a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent with Sami as their home language, orc) is the child of a person who is or has been in the number of people can claim to be included in the number of electors. The number of voters is not an ethnic register, but if you are to vote in the Sámi Parliament elections, you must be included in the Sámi Parliament’s number of voters. If you want to be included in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll, you must register yourself. You cannot register others and others cannot register you. Source: samediggi.no After the news revelation, the majority in the Sami Parliament decided that they would initiate an investigation into the number of voters. The survey was to answer whether those in the workforce actually met the criteria. But it created strong reactions. The largest opposition party, Nordkalottfolket, took the case to court. – This has been a terrible case. The Nordkalott people have fought tooth and nail for us Sami to be good enough and equal in this debate, said the Sami parliament representative for the Nordkalott people, Toril Bakken Kåven. Parliamentary leader of the Nordkalottfolket, Toril Bakken Kåven, says she is fighting for all Sámi to be good enough. Photo: Jonas Løken Estenstad / news Although the court did not take the case of the Nordkalott people for consideration, the investigation was stopped by the Sami Parliament because of the noise that arose. In September, the Sámi Parliament plenum nevertheless made a decision on the number of electors. There it was specified that the plenary management must be authorized to carry out its own investigations of the number of electors. In addition, it was decided that the Sámi Parliament should distribute more information about the criteria, to make it easier for people to know whether they qualify to register. Was revealed – is still in the voter list One of those who previously said that they were registered in the voter list without meeting the criteria, is still listed in the Sami Parliament’s voter list. Pensioner and former FRP politician, Bente Øyan Sveum, confirms that she has not signed off from the electoral roll. Photo: Gyda Katrine Hesla / news The former Frp politician Bente Øyan Sveum confirms that she has not signed out, even after admitting that she does not consider herself a Sámi in the case “The fake Sámi”. – No, I have never done anything else with it, she says. news has contacted everyone who has previously been exposed. One person is said to have opted out, but the rest did not respond. It may be appropriate to remove people from the headcount Plenary leader of the Sámi Parliament, Tom Sottinen (Ap), reacts to the fact that non-Sámi are still in the headcount. – I cannot comment on individual cases, but in general it is very unfortunate and serious if people give incorrect information to a public body, he says. The Sámi Parliament’s plenary leader, Tom Sottinen, confirms that they can go back to certain registration applications and process them again. Photo: Johan Ánte Utsi / news The administration of the Sámi Parliament will inform the plenary leadership about the status of matters related to the number of electors at a meeting at the end of October, Sottinen explains. According to the plenary leader, it may be appropriate to remove people from the headcount who have given incorrect information to the Sámi Parliament when they registered. – I can confirm that the Sámi Parliament is working on assessing individual cases where it may be appropriate to reverse previous decisions on introducing the number of electors, he says. This means that the Sámi Parliament’s administration can go back on approved registrations for the number of electors and process them again. If the criteria are not met, someone can be removed from the number of voters. If so, it will be the first time the Sámi Parliament has done this. Sottinen emphasizes that proper case management is required before it can become relevant. – Looking for “non-Sámi” is not a solution. Per Selle, professor emeritus at the University of Bergen (UiB), believes that the Sámi Parliament faces greater challenges than those who have “cheated” their way into the census. – It is not a solution to look for people who are wrongly in the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll, or to introduce rock-hard control mechanisms for those who want to stand in the Sámi Parliament, he says. Professor emeritus, Per Selle, believes that the Sami Parliament should carry out a thorough professional evaluation of the criteria and the entire electoral system. Photo: Eilif Aslaksen / news He explains that the criteria for standing in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll are partly based on subjective feelings of Sami identity, which makes it difficult to control who is “Sami enough”. This can mean that people without a strong Sami connection can influence indigenous politics to a disproportionate extent. – Sámi politics must stand out Per Selle also points to the fact that there are now more people in cities than in Sámi core areas who register for the electoral roll. This can clearly challenge Sámi politics, he believes. – In my view, it is absolutely crucial in the long term that the Sami core areas are not marginalized politically, if Sami politics is to be indigenous politics and not a form of minority politics, he says. Selle claims that the Sámi Parliament’s political autonomy could be threatened if indigenous politics are diluted and become more like minority politics. – The state has been involved and signed up to the fact that the Sami policy must be different from other policies. That is why we have our own Sami Parliament, he says. Per Selle believes that the Sámi Parliament should carry out a thorough professional evaluation of both the population criteria and the electoral system as soon as possible. The man does not want to come forward with his name and photo, because he fears the consequences it could have for him. Photo: Ingrid Hjellbakk Kvamstø Ran for election to the Sámi Parliament without being Sámi The man who joined the Sámi Parliament under false pretenses voted in the last Sámi Parliament election. In addition, he ran as a list candidate for a party in southern Norway, so that voters could vote for him. – I was carried away. It’s not a good feeling to sit there and lie about a story, he says. He explains that, on the other hand, he wanted to help the party which was struggling to get enough candidates on its electoral list. It all ended with him almost being elected as a deputy to the Sámi Parliament, according to himself. The Sami Parliament’s notifications are based on trust, like other public agencies in Norway. – If it had turned out that a party or a group suddenly decided to exploit this, then this only shows how easy it would have been for them, he concludes. Political commentator: The Sámi Parliament’s own mess The Sámi Parliament’s poor control routines are now leading to people being thrown out of the census. It is dramatic that those who were previously given the right to vote now lose it due to the Sami Parliament’s own mistakes. This could easily have been avoided. The Sámi Parliament cannot point to others here. Because the parliament itself is responsible for the number of people and must ensure that everyone standing there actually has a right to it. Why? Swipe further news How could this happen? The Sámi Parliament has been more concerned with getting as many voters as possible than checking that those who register are actually Sámi. From the time it was established, it has been important to show that Sámi stand up for the Sámi Parliament and join the electorate. Today there are more than 23,000 people in the workforce. A fourfold increase in 35 years. The Sámi Parliament has gained greater support. But is it only Sami? What is at stake? Mona Solbakk Must speak for the Sámi people, no one else’s The Sámi people’s will is shown through the Sámi Parliament’s 39 elected representatives. Parliament must represent the Sami, and therefore only the Sami must vote and be elected to the Sami Parliament. By the fact that other than Sámi have voted in the election, and even stood for election to the Sámi Parliament, it can be doubted whether the Sámi Parliament is actually the voice of the Sámi. Non-Sámi in the population threaten the legitimacy of the entire parliament. Elle Mari Dunfjell Oskal / Åse MP Pulk No one knows No one knows how many people have been unlawfully given the right to vote and stand for election to the Sámi Parliament. It is very serious that we do not know whether, or to what extent, this has influenced the election results in previous Sámi Parliament elections. The Sámi Parliament itself bears full and complete responsibility here. Also because more people are questioning whether those standing for election are actually Sámi. It is probably also the will of the Sami people. Published 25/10/2024, at 05.45
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Ran for election to the Sámi Parliament without being Sámi – news Sápmi
