The 2009 Sami parliamentary election was held in Norway on September 14, 2009. Voters elected 39 members for the Sami Parliament of Norway

Sami Parliament of Norway

The Sami Parliament of Norway is the representative body for people of Sami heritage in Norway. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sami people....

.

The election saw significant losses for the two dominant parties in the Sami Parliament, the Norwegian Labour Party

Norwegian Labour Party

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....

 and Norwegian Sami Association

Norwegian Sami Association

The Norwegian Sami 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 Sami associations. In total 24 Sami associations are attached to the...

. Two third parties made a breakthrough, the new Árja

Árja

Árja is a Norwegian Sami political party. The party was founded on 24 May 2008 in Jergul, and its leader is Láilá Susanne Vars. The ideology of the party is claimed to be based on respect for the elderly in society and traditionally based education...

 and the Progress Party

Progress Party (Norway)

The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...

, with three seats each.

Negotiations

Both the Labour Party and Norwegian Sami Association had refused cooperating with the Progress Party, who notably seek the dismantlement of the Sami Parliament. While both Labour and NSR were reluctant to give hold to a so-called "minor party tyranny", the parties also thought it unlikely to establish a Sami Parliament Council together, but anyways held that it could not be ruled entirely out. Both parties sought cooperation with the Árja Party. Árja held that they could cooperate with all parties, with the likely exception of the Progress Party, citing it "could be problematic". Árja mainly sought to establish a "bloc" together with the Kautokeino reindeer herders list, while also negotiating with both the main parties, as well as Nordkalottfolket.

Result

In the end, a majority Sami Parliament Council was inserted, supported by the Labour Party (14 seats), Árja (3), Nordkalottfolket (1), Sami residents in Southern Norway (1) and Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh (1). The Sami Parliament Council itself, consisted of Egil Olli

Egil Olli

Egil Andreas Olli is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. In September 2007, he became President of the Sami Parliament of Norway when he replaced Aili Keskitalo after she stepped down upon the collapse of the coalition she was heading...

 (Labour) as President, Laila Susanne Vars (Árja) as Vice President, and the council members Ellinor Marita Jåma (Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh), Marianne Balto (Labour) and Vibeke Larsen (Labour). The council was later complained in to the Control Committee by Labour politician Åge Nils Haugen, as the council violated its own equal rights laws, as it consisted of four women and only one man. The complaint was also supported by the Progress Party.

Election results

Election results for the 2009 Sami parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 68.0%.