Denmark

The Danish Parliament

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes
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Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s)
01 Nov 2022
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature
No information available
Timing of election
Early elections
Expected date of next elections
31 Oct 2026
Number of seats at stake
179
Scope of elections
Full renewal

Candidates

Number of parties contesting the election
14
Total number of candidates
1,014
Number of male candidates
625
Number of female candidates
389
Percentage of women candidates
38.4%

Voter turnout

Registered voters
4,269,048
Voters
3,592,822
Voter turnout
84.2%

Results

About the election

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the snap elections. It won 50 seats in the 179-member parliament. The Liberal Party (Venstre, led by Mr. Jakob Elleman-Jensen) took 23 seats, down from 43. Its splinter party, Moderates, formed in June 2022 by former Prime Minister and former Liberal Party leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen, took 16 seats. A record 78 women (43.58%) were elected in 2022, up from 70 (39.11%) in 2019. On 15 November, the newly elected Parliament held its first session. The following day, it elected Mr. Søren Gade (Liberal Party) as its new Speaker.

The 2022 elections were held seven months earlier than was constitutionally required. The Prime Minister, who had won praise for the overall handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, came under criticism over a decision to cull the country’s entire captive mink population for fear of a COVID-19 variant infecting humans. In June, a parliament-appointed commission said the government had lacked a legal justification for the cull. The Social Liberal Party (one of the coalition partners of the Social Democratic Party) said it would table a confidence vote unless the Prime Minister called an early election. On 5 October, the Prime Minister called early elections for 1 November.

During election campaigning, the Prime Minister, whose outgoing government comprised what was known as the Red Bloc (see note), said she would try to form a government with parties from the political right in order to steer the country safely through uncertain times. On 15 December, Prime Minister Frederiksen announced a new coalition government comprising her Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Moderates. It is the first coalition government since 1978 that involves both the Social Democrats (which have traditionally led the Red Bloc) and the Liberals (which have led the Blue Bloc).

Note:

The Red Bloc comprised the Social Democratic Party, the Socialist People's Party (SF), the Social Liberal Party (RV), the Unity List – Red-Green Alliance, and the Alternative. In 2022, the Red Bloc won a total of 90 seats in the 179-member parliament: 88 out of 175 seats in Denmark and two more seats in Greenland. However, the Unity List – Red-Green Alliance (which took nine seats) and the Alternative (six seats) subsequently left the coalition talks.

Number of parties winning seats
12
Percentage of parties winning seats
85.7%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition
27.9%
Alternation of power after elections
No
Number of parties in government
3
Names of parties in government
Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Moderates

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group Total Constituency seats Compensatory seats
Social Democratic Party 50 50 0
Liberal Party (Venstre) 23 21 2
Moderates (M) 16 13 3
Socialist People's Party (SF) 15 12 3
Danish Democrats (Æ) 14 11 3
Liberal Alliance 14 10 4
Conservative People's Party 10 7 3
Unity List-Red-Green Alliance 9 4 5
Social Liberal Party (RV) 7 2 5
The New Right 6 2 4
Alternative 6 2 4
Danish People's Party 5 1 4
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
101
Number of women elected
78
Percentage of women elected
43.6%
Women Directly Elected
78
Other notes on the elections

Note

Four other members are elected separately from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The statistics above exclude the election results for these four members.

Election results for Greenland

- Siumut: 1 seat

- Inuit Ataqatigiit: 1 seat

Election results for the Faroe Islands

- Sambandsflokkurin: 1 seat

- Javnaðarflokkurin: 1 seat

Note on the Parties or coalitions winning seats:

Of the 175 seats reserved for Denmark (which excludes the seats for Greenland and the Faroe Islands), 135 constituency seats are distributed locally among the 10 multi-member constituencies. The remaining 40 seats are compensatory seats, which are distributed among the three electoral provinces as part of a national seat allocation.

Article 77(4) of the Folketing (Parliamentary) Elections Act stipulates: “If a party has obtained more constituency seats than the total number of seats to which the party is entitled in proportion to its vote, see subsection (2), a second computation shall be made. In this computation parties which have obtained a number of constituency seats equivalent to or larger than the total number of seats to which they are entitled in proportion to their votes shall be disregarded.”

In the 2022 elections, the Social Democratic Party won 50 constituency seats even though, in proportion to the number of national-level votes it received, it would have been entitled to 49 seats. In accordance with Article 77(4), the Social Democratic Party therefore retained its 50 seats. Consequently, the Liberal Party (Venstre) received 23 seats in all (21 constituency seats and 2 compensatory seats) even though, in proportion to the number of national-level votes it received, the party would have been entitled to a total of 24 seats.

Sources:

https://elections.im.dk/media/15735/the-electoral-system-in-denmark.pdf

https://elections.im.dk/parliament-elections/folketing-parliamentary-elections-act

https://www.dst.dk/valg/Valg1968094/other/OpgorelseFolketingsvalg2022.pdf

Date of the dissolution of the outgoing legislature:

The outgoing legislature is dissolved on election day in accordance with section 32(4) of the Constitution, which stipulates: “No seats shall be vacated until a new election has been held.”

Date of the first session of the newly elected legislature:

In accordance with section 35(1) of the Constitution, the first session of a newly elected parliament is held on the twelfth weekday after the election (with weekdays being all days excluding Sundays and holidays, i.e., 14 calendar days).

Sources

New legislature

Total number of men after the election
101
Total number of women after the election
78
Percentage of women after the election
43.6%
First-term parliamentarians
52
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians
29.1%
Date of the first session
15 Nov 2022

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature
Søren Gade (Male)
Date of birth: 27 Jan 1963
Political party
Liberal Party (Venstre)
Date of election
16 Nov 2022

Historical data for IPU membership

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Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No