One of you asked me to explain how a general election works in DK.
For many of you this will be self-explanatory, so feel free to skip this post. ?
However, a number of countries basically have a two-party system, where one of them takes over an runs the country for the next period.
But in a number of countries there are many parties and it's common to have coalition governments and minority governments, that is the case in DK.
There are 179 seats in the the one-chamber DK Parliament, 4 of them are from Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, so the voters in Denmark decide 175 seats. Each seat represents roughly 20.000 voters.
This time no less than 14 parties run for Parliament. That's a lot!
The advantage of that is that no matter what you think are the most important topics, you can almost always find a party that suits your views. And if that party disappoints you you can usually find an alternative.
Having many parties also means that most people, who are remotely interested in politics can find a voice who represents them.
The downside is that with a zillion parties the government has to go through a major diplomatic process in order to accommodate everybody. And sometimes a small party has an influence that is disproportional with it's size.
Of all those parties five really matters. They are the ones that consistently form governments, whether they be right-wing or left wing, and sometimes center governments. The other parties are basically supporting parties to the government or the opposition. Even though it happens that a small party gets a seat in a government.
A three week election campaign is normal, seldom less and sometimes four or five weeks.
All adult Danish citizens can vote, including in theory the DRF. Around two weeks ago you could start voting by letter. That is you walk into a public library or town hall or similar with your social security card and ask to cast your vote, your are handed a ballot paper, where you put your X. At the same time you are being registered as having cast your vote, so you can't show up on election day to vote, you will be turned away.
If you happen to be in prison, in hospital or is a conscript you vote by letter. That is also the case if you live abroad.
About ten days ago the elections cards arrived in the mail. That card is personal and you use it when you go to vote on election day. On the card is your name and instructions on where to vote.
An election card looks like this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLDRiDzXUAA3kfk.jpg:large
The area where you vote is automatically determined by the address you are registered to live at. In my case an area in Eastern Jutland.
The election card is strictly personal and it's criminal offense to use someone else's card. Or destroy someone else's card.
General elections are for whatever reason always held on a Tuesday.
So tomorrow my wife and I will stroll to our local school, where we are to cast our votes.
Here we will approach election official and present our election cards. They will check our names and make sure we haven't already cast our votes, and then present up with a ballot paper.
Presenting the election card and being handed the ballot paper:
https://images.jfmedier.dk/images/1...ad6_40_90_0_0_6016_4016_1440_961_2af0caec.jpg
Casting your vote:
https://berlingske.bmcdn.dk/media/c...kampen-om-at-f-indvandrere-i-stemmeboksen.jpg
The ballot boxes:
http://mreast.dk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Valg.jpg
The ballot paper contains the parties and the candidates that run in your area. And it's pretty long!
https://k9-drupal-images.k.dk/k9-dr...ddeles_stemmeret.jpg?h=cfed6c56&itok=8g7pBhn1
In detail:
https://www.jurabibliotek.dk/view/book/9788771984545/Images/Fig_003.jpg
You can either vote for a candidate or a party. You vote by putting one X with a pencil and behind a curtain. No one but you are allowed behind the curtain while you vote, not even children, unless they are very small.
If you vote for a party the votes go to the candidates in descending order. Once the leading candidate has enough votes, the remaining votes go to the next, the third and so on, until all votes have been distributed.
But if you prefer a particular candidate your vote go to ensure that candidate a seat, if possible, regardless of his or her position as a party candidate.
Once a candidate has enough personal votes to ensure a seat, the rest of the votes go to the party and the other candidates in descending order.
But of course a candidate with a lot of personal votes carry a lot of influence.
Some candidates can easily secure his/her party four or five seats and as such that person is
very influential within his/her party.
The election always starts at 08.00 and it ends at 20.00.
And then the votes are being counted - by hand.
Around 21.00 enough votes have been counted to give a rough idea of the result.
Around 22.00 sometimes 23.00 the result is pretty much a given thing. I.e. we know whether the government or the opposition has won the election.
It happens that it's a very close run and then we only know for sure around 01.00 or so. - I think that will be the case tomorrow.
Once the result is known the government or the opposition will either admit defeat and congratulate the other side. Or the result is unclear and then they will call for a Queen-round.
A Queen-round (that's almost a certainty at this election) means that each of the parties that have seats in the Parliament will go see QMII and each will name a person they wish to lead the negotiations in order to form a government. - Normally it will be the winner of the election, either the acting PM or the leader of the opposition.
That person will be requested by QMII to try and form a government. And then the negotiations will start. The official title is: Kongelig Undersøger = Royal Investigator.
Danish governments are either coalition-governments consisting of 2-5 parties (2-3 parties being normal). Or minority governments. Which means they
must make political deals with opposition.
If the Royal Investigator cannot form a government, there will be a new Queen Round and typically, but not always, a new Royal Investigator will be appointed by QMII.
The record length of time it has taken to form a government after an election in DK is 35 days.
If for whatever reason a couple of months go by and it is not possible to form a government, the Parliament can convene and call a new general election, so that the people can sort out the mess.
There is no such thing as months of negotiations in DK, and certainly not right now. The public won't accept it.
Once the Royal Investigator has negotiated a government in place and ensured that there is not a majority in Parliament
against it, the Royal Investigator will go to QMII and inform her that it is possible to form a government. QMII will respond: Go ahead.
A little while later the Royal Investigator will present the new government on a list to QMII and upon getting an: Approved. The new upcoming ministers will be presented to QMII and then the takeover will take place in the individual ministries and that's it.
It often happens that a government wins the election hands down, and in that case the acting PM will inform QMII that the government continues and it now returns to become a functioning government. - Usually there will be a government reshuffle though, but that's a question of presenting the new ministers to QMII.
But nothing happens without the Monarch.
All legal authority in Denmark, including the authority of the government, is in the name of the Monarch.
No government is legal without the approval and signature of the Monarch.
Indeed.
