Norway election: Ruling Conservatives claim second term
Image copyright EPA Image caption Erna Solberg is projected to be Norway’s first Conservative PM to be re-elected since 1985
Norway’s Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg appears set for a second term after claiming victory in the country’s general election.
Ms Solberg’s ruling coalition with the Progress Party is slated to win 89 of 169 seats, with 95% of votes counted.
The opposition Labour Party appears to have maintained its position as the largest single group in parliament.
Ms Solberg said voters had given her “a mandate for four more years” but urged caution as results were being counted.
“It looks like a clear victory,” Ms Solberg said to a group of her supporters in Oslo, adding: “Our solutions have worked; we have created jobs.”
Confirmation of the win would make Ms Solberg, 56, the first centre-right leader in three decades to be re-elected Norway’s prime minister.
Her conservative coalition with the anti-immigration Progress Party ran a campaign promising tax cuts, which it said would help to boost economic growth.
The opposition Labour Party, led by 57-year-old former foreign minister Jonas Gahr Store, campaigned on a promise to raise taxes for the wealthiest in a bid to improve public services.
The party, which has been the biggest political party in Norway since the 1920s, was projected to take 80 seats.
Norway has not seen a Conservative-led government retain power in an election since 1985.
