The 2017 Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election was held on 11 September 2017. All 39 seats in the Norwegian Sámi legislature, the Sámediggi, were up for election.

Background

Previous election

In the previous election, held on 9 September 2013, the

Norwegian Sámi Association The Norwegian Sámi Association ( ; ; ; ), also known as NSR, is the largest Sámi organization in Norway. The association was founded in 1968. Purpose The NSR actively runs cultural, social, and informational work through local groups and Sá ...

, with former President of the Sámi Parliament Aili Keskitalo as their Presidential candidate, won a plurality, with 11 of the 39 seats, including 2 on a joint list with the Sami People's Party. The Norwegian Sámi Association formed a minority administration on the Governing Council supported by the Labour Party,

Árja Árja ("Commitment" in northern Sami) is a Norwegian Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence compa ...

and Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh. Keskitalo took office as President on 16 October after being elected by the Parliament. The Labour Party, which had governed from 2007, returned to the opposition.

2016–17 political crisis

In December 2016, the budget proposed by Keskitalo's Governing Council was rejected by the Parliament, which instead voted for an alternative budget proposed by the Labour Party, Conservative Party, and

. A successful vote of no confidence followed. On 8 December 2016, Aili Keskitalo resigned and the Parliament elected Labour's

Vibeke Larsen Vibeke Larsen (born 15 June 1971) is a Norwegian Sami politician of Nordkalottfolket, formerly of the Labour Party and . She was born in Vassdalen in Narvik. She was elected member to the Sami Parliament of Norway first time in 2005. From 20 ...

as her replacement, with a coalition consisting of Labour, the Conservative Party, and Árja. On 28 January 2017, the Labour Party held a political council to select a new Presidential candidate after the withdrawal of Helga Pedersen. Pedersen had withdrawn as Presidential candidate in December 2016 in opposition to the vote of no confidence, which she had strongly advised against and refused to defend. Ronny Wilhelmsen was nominated, defeating incumbent President

by 21 votes to 17 on the second ballot. Larsen subsequently announced her intention to resign as President, before announcing the next day that she would leave the Labour Party and continue as a

political independent An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

, citing a "use and throw away mentality" within the party. Larsen additionally fired Wilhlemsen as her Vice President due to a lack of trust.

Presidential candidates

The

re-nominated Aili Keskitalo as their Presidential candidate. The Labour Party nominated Ronny Wilhelmsen, who served as Vice President of the Sámi Parliament prior to his firing in January 2017.

nominated Inger Eline Eriksen, member of the Governing Council. Nordkalottfolket nominated their leader, Toril Bakken Kåven.

formed her own political party, Šiella, and ran is its Presidential candidate.

Results

References