Turnout: 62.20%

Overview

The municipal elections of 11 September 2023 delivered a clear victory for the Conservative Party (Høyre), which finished first nationally with 25.86% of the vote — its best local result in decades and the first time the party had topped a nationwide Norwegian election since 1924. Labour fell to 21.59% (though it still won the second-largest number of councillors, about 2,263, behind the Conservatives' roughly 1,851), the Progress Party recovered to 11.39%, and the Centre Party dropped back to 8.16%. Turnout was 62.2%. The major cities — Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger among them — swung to centre-right leadership.

Electoral system

Municipal councils are elected every four years by party-list proportional representation (modified Sainte-Laguë); voters may give personal and cumulative votes, and council size reflects population. Foreign nationals resident for at least three years may vote.

Political context

The election was a mid-term verdict on Jonas Gahr Støre's red-green national government, and the swing to the right was driven by the cost-of-living crisis, soaring electricity prices and discontent over the wealth tax. The Centre Party, the chief winner of 2019, was among the heaviest losers.

Official data source

Norwegian Election Directorate (Valgdirektoratet) — valgresultat.no.