The matter in summary: The Storting will today decide on an amendment to the subdivision act that could give residents of old Søgne and Songdalen the opportunity to separate from the large municipality of Kristiansand. Kristiansand city council has rejected a referendum on the division of the municipality twice. The government voted in favor of the change in the law on 8 November, and several local politicians believe that this overrides local democracy. The government hopes to carry out a possible vote by the spring of next year. It is still unclear how the referendum will be conducted. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – This is a case that has clearly set many emotions in motion locally. So says political scientist at the University of Agder, Dag Ingvar Jacobsen. Today it will be clear whether the Storting agrees to an amendment to the law which ensures that the government can carry out a referendum in Søgne and Songdalen. Kristiansand city council has rejected a referendum on the division of Kristiansand municipality twice. And after the Socialist Left Party (SV) secured a majority for the change in the law on 8 November, several politicians in Kristiansand have expressed that this is an overrun of local democracy. – There are quite a few different opinions as to whether this is correct or not, but from a purely legal point of view, this will be approved in the Storting, with 99 percent certainty, says Jacobsen. – Will be a battle If the amendment to the law passes in the Storting, we will have a kind of election campaign between two opposing strong sides, predicts Jacobsen. – The two camps have already been at work for a long time with their arguments and it will now intensify towards a public hearing. It is a difficult matter. The legislative change will take place in the Subdivision Act. The government hopes to carry out the vote by spring next year. It is still unclear how the citizens’ consultation will be carried out, but the premise is that it is residents of old Søgne and Songdalen who can vote. – One of the unpleasant things here is about who should actually be allowed to speak about splitting up a municipality. But the government has made it clear that it wants to hear from those who have been merged with what they call a coercive decision. Political scientist Dag Ingvar Jacobsen says there are many different opinions about whether changing the subdivision act is right or not. Photo: Victoria Marie Nordahl Voted for a change in the law Recently, SV secured a majority in the government for the proposal, which could lead to a referendum. The news was celebrated with cake and bubbles by those who want to split up the current municipality. Local SV were sure that the party leadership would vote against it, and group leader in Kristiansand SV, Andreas Landmark, was very disappointed. – We are incredibly disappointed that the parliamentary group chooses to override its own local team and our decision, said an angry Landmark. Afterwards, he has stated that he is losing confidence in the party leadership. Landmark has challenged them to clarify what the process of a referendum will be like. Kristiansand’s mayor, Mathias Bernander (H), has previously expressed that he is more anxious about the consequences of starting than reversing. – We plan for the municipality to be united and deliver good services to those who live here. Then the government gets to rule with this, he said after the government won a majority. Majority against splitting For the first time there are more people in Søgne who say they are against a splitting of Kristiansand municipality. This came out in an opinion poll that Respons analysis did for news and Fædrelandsvennen in November. It shows that there is still an even balance in Søgne between those who want to keep the large municipality of Kristiansand and those who want secession. The survey also shows that the majority against separating Songdalen as its own municipality has strengthened since the last time. “Forced marriage” It was in January 2020 that Kristiansand, Søgne and Songdalen were merged into one large municipality. As the municipal council in old Søgne voted against the merger in 2016, it was considered by many to be a kind of forced marriage. In September 2021, Center party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum visited Søgne and promised the residents a divorce if they came to power after the election. Center party leader and finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum visited Søgne in 2021 where he promised a municipal reversal. Photo: Lars Nehru Sand / Lars Nehru Sand In December of the same year, the city council in Kristiansand decided to stop the dissolution process. In September this year, the city council voted again, and the answer was no for the second time. The state administrator in Agder has presented a report which estimates that a possible divorce will cost NOK 400 million. In March, it became clear that the government will change the law to carry out the split, at the expense of local politicians’ wishes. Hi! Did you think of anything in particular when you read this story or do you have tips for something else I should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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The Storting votes on legislative change in municipal conflict – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
