Norwegian parliamentary election, 1879

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway in 1879.^[1] The elections were not held on a specific date, as the various cities and Amts held the election at their own choice.^[2] Instead, the elections stretched from June to several months later.^[2] Voting rights were highly limited, as women were not allowed to vote and there were strong restrictions on men's ability to vote.^[2] It has been estimated that only 2.5% of the population of Christiania (Oslo), and 4.6% of the national population, was eligible to vote.^{[2] [3]} The national election turnout was 48.7% (85% in Christiania), and 114 representatives were elected for the Norwegian Parliament,^[3] an increase of three seats compared to the Storting elected in 1876.^[4]

While there were no official parties, two informal groups existed, namely Venstre, or "the Liberals" (de liberale), and Høire.^[2] The latter list was called Aftenpostens og Morgenbladets liste in Christiania.^[2] The Venstre opposition, led by Johan Sverdrup, gained popularity particularly in the districts, while Høire remained the most popular in the cities.^[2] In Christiania, the Aftenpostens og Morgenbladets liste won about 1,800 of the votes, while Venstre won about 600.^[2]

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Independents		100	114
Invalid/blank votes		–	–
Total	42,430	100	114
Registered voters/turnout	87,173	48.7	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, NSSDS[4]

References

1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1437 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. V., C. (5 July 1949). "Da hare 2,5 prosent av Kristianias innbyggere hadde stemmerett: Et 70-års minne". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 March 2011.
3. "25.2 Stortingsvalg. Personer med stemmerett, avgitte stemmer og valgte representanter". Statistics Norway (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 March 2011.
4. Storting composition 1814-1903 Norwegian Social Science Data Services