For the first time in 40 years, a new local election needs to be held in Norway. A lack of ballots at a voting precinct in Moss means that local officials need to lure voters back to the booths to vote for a county council in Østfold.
The small Industri og næringsparti Industry and business party) INP complained that its ballots for the county council were not available at a local precinct in Moss for as long as seven hours on Election Day on September 11. That led the local election board for Østfold to respond to the complaint by declaring the county election in Moss as invalid.
The election will be repeated only in Moss: “We want to hold a new election as quickly as possible,” Siri Dolven of the local district involved told state broadcaster NRK.
The leader of INP in Moss, Svein Kenneth Stensrud, was relieved there will be a new elections. “What’s most important is that voters have confidence in the election system,” he told NRK. A new election may not yield the same result, he noted, “but it will be a correct election.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
