HM King Harald and HM Queen Sonja on their way into the Storting before the State Opening in 2016. Photo: Morten Brakestad/Storting.
Preparing for a new Storting
After the election, it falls to the Storting to approve the election results, elect the Presidium and assign members to the standing committees. On 11th October, the King will formally open the new Storting.
Determination of results and credentials
The election on 13th September 2021 was carried out in the municipalities, with the results being determined by the county electoral committees and ultimately by the National Electoral Committee. The National Electoral Committee also allocates seats at large to the parties whose total national vote at the parliamentary election exceeded the minimum threshold of 4 per cent. The election process is the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation and the Norwegian Directorate of Elections. The electoral committees approve and issue credentials to the candidates authorized to sit in the Storting and represent the voters of particular counties during the forthcoming four-year term.
When the election results and credentials arrive from the county electoral committees, it is the job of the Preparatory Credentials Committee – appointed by the previous Storting – to provisionally examine the credentials and review any reports of errors or complaints received from the counties and the National Electoral Committee. This work is facilitated by a secretariat, which goes through the material in advance.
Until their credentials have been approved, the Members of the Storting (MPs) have a temporary right to sit and to vote.
The new Storting is thus in the position of approving itself, but only on the basis of preliminary work done by MPs from the previous Storting session.
The new Storting begins
When the new Storting convenes on Friday 1st October, the credentials are distributed to the first Member for each county and a list is made of the MPs for roll call by the President. At this sitting the post of President is assumed by the highest-ranking member of the Presidium from the previous Storting who is present. If no one from the previous Presidium has been re-elected, the MP who has served longest shall preside. The election of the (final) Credentials Committee occurs at this sitting.
On Friday 8th October the Credentials Committee’s recommendations will be considered by the new Storting. The new Storting’s constituent sitting, at which the new Presidium will be elected, is set for 9th October.
The Election Committee’s 37 members will be elected immediately after the Storting has been constituted. To the degree possible, the parliamentary party groups are proportionally represented on the committee. Geographical distribution by constituency is also taken into account. The Election Committee prepares and issues recommendations on any election the Storting may wish to hold, including elective appointments to commissions, committees and councils, such as the Norwegian Nobel Committee. These recommendations are considered by the Storting as a whole.
State opening on 11th October
On Monday 11th October, the King is due to perform the State Opening of the new Storting.
As prescribed in the Constitution, the King delivers the Speech from the Throne during the opening. These days the speech is written by the Government rather than by the King himself. The King is presented with the speech by the Prime Minister during the ceremony. In the Speech from the Throne, the King reads out the Government’s policy plans for the coming year.
The State of the Realm Address is then read by a member of the Government, usually the youngest minister. By tradition this address is delivered in Nynorsk, one of the two official forms of Norwegian.