Norway held its municipal and county elections on Monday, with the Conservative Party (H) securing the largest vote share at 25.9 percent. As a result, a change in local leadership is expected in major cities like Oslo, Bergen, and Stavanger.
The election statistics breakdown is as follows:
– Conservative Party (H): 25.9 percent (+5.8)
– Labour Party (AP): 21.7 percent (-3.1)
– Progress Party (FRP): 11.4 percent (+3.1)
– Centre Party (SP): 8.2 percent (-6.2)
– Socialist Left Party (SV): 6.8 percent (+0.7)
– Liberal Party (V): 5 percent (+1.1)
– Greens (MDG): 4.1 percent (-2.7)
– Christian Democrats (KRF): 4 percent (0)
– Red Party (R): 3.5 percent (-0.3)
– Others: 9.5 percent (+1.5)
The Labour Party’s (AP) performance in these local elections marked their weakest yet, with 21.7 percent of voter support. Even their partner in the government, the Centre Party (SP), experienced a significant decline.
The voter turnout for these elections was lower than in the previous election, with only 62.2 percent of eligible voters participating. This decline is consistent with the overall trend of reduced interest in local elections.
DNB, Norway’s largest bank, faced technical difficulties with its banking services on Tuesday morning, including issues with bill payments and transfers within the online banking system. The bank apologized for the inconvenience caused to its customers and assured them that efforts were being made to resolve the situation promptly.
The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority is investigating high invoice fees charged by telecom companies, specifically Telenor, Ice, and Telia. These companies have been given three weeks to provide relevant information to the oversight agency. If any issues are found, the regulatory body may enforce measures such as halting the practices or imposing fines.
Overall, the local elections in Norway saw the Conservative Party secure the largest vote share and a decrease in voter turnout compared to previous years. Technical issues in banking services and a probe into high invoice fees by telecoms have also been notable occurrences.