Denmark Municipal elections 2021 — Results

At a glance

The 2021 Danish municipal elections, held on 16 November 2021, again left the Social Democrats as the largest party in Danish local government, but the headline was the strong performance of the Conservatives, who recorded their best municipal result in decades, and the continued strength of independent local lists. The elections were held while Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats governed nationally.

The rules of the game

Denmark's 98 municipalities each elect a council by proportional representation for four years, and the councils elect mayors who wield considerable power over local services and budgets. Local lists, standing only in individual municipalities, are a permanent and substantial feature, and the consensual, service-focused character of Danish local politics often produces broad governing majorities within councils.

The result

The Social Democrats won about 28.4% of the national vote and 755 council seats, comfortably first, with Venstre on roughly 21% and 620 seats. The Conservatives surged to about 15% and 404 seats, their strongest in a generation, gaining in affluent suburbs and provincial towns. The Socialist People's Party, Red–Green Alliance and Social Liberals also did well in the cities, while the Danish People's Party continued its steep decline.

Turnout and the map

Turnout was about 67%. The Social Democrats led the municipal vote in all five regions, but the Conservative advance reshaped the contest in the capital's wealthier suburbs. The map above shows the largest party by region, aggregating the municipal results; the full breakdown, including local lists, is available on click.

After the vote

The Social Democrats took 44 mayoralties to Venstre's 34 and the Conservatives' 14. While the centre-left held its dominant position, the Conservative surge and Venstre's resilience pointed to a gradual recovery of the centre-right at local level — a trend that would accelerate dramatically four years later.

The parties and the mayoralties

Nationwide the Social Democrats remained the largest local party with about 28.4% of the vote but fell back from their 2017 high, losing roughly 87 council seats; Venstre took around 21.2%. The big winner was the Conservative People's Party, which jumped to about 15.2% — its best local result since 1985 — gaining close to 180 council seats. Of the 98 municipal mayoralties the Social Democrats held 44, Venstre 34 and the Conservatives 14, with the rest shared among other parties and local lists. The pattern confirmed Denmark's tradition of split-ticket local voting, in which national governing parties often lose ground in municipal contests while well-organised local and centre-right lists make gains.

Source

Official results from Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) — dst.dk/valg. The map aggregates the municipal results to the five regions.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.