Norway: Parliament, 11 September 2017

At stake in this election:

· 169 seats in the Parliament (Storting)

Description of government structure:

· Chief of State: King HARALD V (since January 17, 1991)

· Head of Government: Prime Minister Erna SOLBERG (since October 16, 2013)

· Assembly: Unicameral Parliament (Storting) with 169 seats

Description of electoral system:

· The monarch is hereditary head of state.

· The 169 members of the Parliament are directly elected to 4-year terms by a proportional representation vote.

· The monarch appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the majority party or coalition) to a 4-year term with the approval of the Parliament (Storting).

Last Election:

· Norway’s last parliamentary election occurred on September 9, 2013. The election resulted in a victory for the center-right coalition, which obtained 96 seats. Conservative party leader Erna SOLBERG was elected Prime Minister. The Labour Party won the largest share of votes, obtaining 55 seats.

Main candidates in the election:

·         Labour Party / Arbeiderpartiet

o   Leader: Jonas Gahr STØRE

o   Seats won in last election: 55

·         Conservative Party / Høyre

o   Leader: Erna SOLBERG

o   Seats won in last election: 48

·         Progress Party / Fremskrittspartiet

o   Leader: Siv JENSEN

o   Seats won in last election: 29

·         Christian Democratic Party / Kristelig Folkeparti

o   Leader: Knut Arild HAREIDE

o   Seats won in last election: 10

·         Center Party / Senterpartiet

o   Leader: Trygve Slagsvold VEDUM

o   Seats won in last election: 10

·         Liberal Party / Venstre

o   Leader: Trine Skei GRANDE

o   Seats won in last election: 9

·         Socialist Left Party / Sosialistisk Venstreparti

o   Leader: Audun LYSBAKKEN

o   Seats won in last election: 7

·         Green Party / Miljøpartiet De Grønne

o   Leader: Rasmus Hansson Une Aina BASTHOLM

o   Seats won in last election: 1

·         Red Party / Rødt

o   Leader: Bjørnar Moxnes

o   Seats won in last election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 5,265,158 (2016)

·         Registered Voters: 3,641,753 (2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,642,957

·         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: 67

·         Human Development Index Position: 1 (2016)

·         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 (24 September 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 781,153