At stake in this election:

• 165 seats in the Parliament (Storting)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King HARALD V
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG
• Assembly: Norway has a unicameral Parliament (Storting) with 165 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch with the approval of parliament.
• In the Parliament (Storting) 165 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** In the process of passing legislation, the Storting is divided into two chambers, the Odelsting and the Lagting. After each general election, the Storting elects one quarter of its members to serve in the Lagting, while the remaining three quarters become members of the Odelsting.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Norwegian Labor Party
  • Leader: Thorbjørn JAGLAND
  • Seats won in last election: 65
• Party: Conservative Party
  • Leader: Jan PETERSEN
  • Seats won in last election: 23
• Party: Christian Democtatic Party
  • Leader: Kjell BONDEVIK
  • Seats won in last election: 25
• Party: The Progressive Party
  • Leader: Carl HAGEN
  • Seats won in last election: 25
• Party: Socialist Left Party
  • Leader: Kristin HALVORSEN
  • Seats won in last election: 9
• Party: Centre Party
  • Leader: Odd Roger ENOKSEN
  • Seats won in last election: 11

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last parliamentary election was held on September 15, 1997.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,513,751 (2001)
• Registered Voters: 3,359,433 (2001)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,278,837 (2001)

·         Is Norway a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Norway ratified CEDAW: Yes (21 May 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 60 (following the 2001 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 1 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Norway a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Norway ratified CRPD: Yes (3 June 2013)

·         Population with a disability: 677,062 (est.)