Norway Prepares for Tight Parliamentary Elections

(MENAFN) Norway is preparing to head to the polls on Monday to elect all 169 members of the Storting, the country’s supreme legislative body, along with representatives to the Sami Parliament.

This election is anticipated to be highly competitive.

According to Statistics Norway, over 4.05 million people are eligible to cast their votes.

Among them, approximately 310,000 young citizens will be voting for the first time.

Additionally, voters with immigrant backgrounds make up 11.5% of the electorate.

Early voting has seen a significant increase this year, with 1.9 million ballots submitted before election day.

The capital city, Oslo, contributed 320,000 of these early votes, representing more than half of its eligible voters, based on municipal data.

The election campaign has been characterized by a tight contest between the center-left alliance, led by the incumbent Labor Party Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, and a right-wing coalition dominated by the Progress Party and the Conservatives.

Opinion polls show the Labor Party slightly in the lead, with national support ranging from 26.5% to 30%, while the Progress Party holds 19%. The Conservatives are polling at 15%.

Voter priorities are influenced by concerns such as inequality, taxation, the cost of living, and public services.

An August survey conducted by Respons Analyse for a daily newspaper revealed that inequality has overtaken defense and national security as the foremost concern for voters.

Over the past year, food prices have increased by 5.9%, while the economy, employment, and taxation remain crucial topics.

The Labor Party favors largely stable taxes, though some coalition partners advocate for higher rates on the wealthy.

Meanwhile, the Progress Party and the Conservatives are promising significant tax reductions.

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