By Lene Kühle
The time for the local and regional elections in Denmark is coming. On November 17, there will be elections for the local governments of the 98 Danish municipalities. Voting is not obligatory in Denmark, but the poll turnouts tend to be relatively high in this country. In the parliamentary elections, the turnout is usually about 85 percent, while local elections have a somewhat lower turnout: often around 70 percent.
Muslims as a Potential Political Factor
Islam is the largest minority religion in Denmark. The presence of about 210,000 Muslims in Denmark is mostly due to immigration. About half of the Danish Muslim population consists of former guest workers (and their descendents) who arrived to Denmark in the late 1960s and 1970s mainly from Turkey, Pakistan, and former Yugoslavia. The other half consists of refugees (and their descendents) who came in the 1980s and 1990s from, for instance, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, and Bosnia.
A growing number of Danish Muslims are born in Denmark, and many are Danish citizens. The number of Muslim voters is unknown, but Danes with an immigrant background, including the large Muslim group, are increasingly becoming a potential political factor that parties need to take into account and in some cases even cater to.
In the capital Copenhagen and in big cities like Aarhus and Odense, most major parties have candidates with a Muslim background, and this is also the case in most of the other municipalities with Muslim communities. However, it is believed to be less likely for Muslim Danes than other Danes to participate in the elections.
How Predictable Are Muslim Voters?
On a national scale, Muslims in Denmark tend to support left-wing parties. A recent survey among Danish Muslims gave the social Democrat-led opposition almost 90 percent of the votes. This is probably a reflection of the fact that the right-wing government is considered likely to enforce a strict immigration policy and perhaps in particular less supportive of Muslim practice than the opposition.
For example, the Danish Conservative People’s Party, one of the parties in government, recently proposed a ban on the wearing of burqa in public. Interestingly, the MP who made the suggestion, Naser Khader, is himself a Muslim. Although it is unlikely that the ban will be imposed, this kind of political action is seen by some Muslims as an indicator of anti-Muslim sentiments.
Muslims' vote in local and regional elections is less predictable and depends on the candidates available in the different municipalities.
Unlike the elections for the National Parliament where the main themes of the elections during the last decade have been immigration and integration, the local elections witness parties' agendas that tend to focus on welfare at the local level (quality of public schools, day-care centers, old-age homes, hospitals, etc.). Attempts to put discussions on immigration and integration on the political agenda before and during the election period have failed.
For example, in September, the right-wing, pro-government Danish People's Party launched a campaign demanding a referendum on the right to build grand mosques in Denmark. However, politicians from both the government and the opposition rejected the campaign, arguing that the Muslim minority has, like other religious minorities, a constitutionally guaranteed right to build mosques in Denmark. This means that Danish Muslims can for this time engage in the elections as active citizens without having to pay attention to the last debates on immigration and integration.
Dr. Lene Kühle is associate professor at the Department for the Study of Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. Her main research areas are religion, theology, society, and politics. Click here to see her list of publications.
The time for the local and regional elections in Denmark is coming. On November 17, there will be elections for the local governments of the 98 Danish municipalities. Voting is not obligatory in Denmark, but the poll turnouts tend to be relatively high in this country. In the parliamentary elections, the turnout is usually about 85 percent, while local elections have a somewhat lower turnout: often around 70 percent.
Muslims as a Potential Political Factor
Islam is the largest minority religion in Denmark. The presence of about 210,000 Muslims in Denmark is mostly due to immigration. About half of the Danish Muslim population consists of former guest workers (and their descendents) who arrived to Denmark in the late 1960s and 1970s mainly from Turkey, Pakistan, and former Yugoslavia. The other half consists of refugees (and their descendents) who came in the 1980s and 1990s from, for instance, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, and Bosnia.
A growing number of Danish Muslims are born in Denmark, and many are Danish citizens. The number of Muslim voters is unknown, but Danes with an immigrant background, including the large Muslim group, are increasingly becoming a potential political factor that parties need to take into account and in some cases even cater to.
In the capital Copenhagen and in big cities like Aarhus and Odense, most major parties have candidates with a Muslim background, and this is also the case in most of the other municipalities with Muslim communities. However, it is believed to be less likely for Muslim Danes than other Danes to participate in the elections.
How Predictable Are Muslim Voters?
On a national scale, Muslims in Denmark tend to support left-wing parties. A recent survey among Danish Muslims gave the social Democrat-led opposition almost 90 percent of the votes. This is probably a reflection of the fact that the right-wing government is considered likely to enforce a strict immigration policy and perhaps in particular less supportive of Muslim practice than the opposition.
For example, the Danish Conservative People’s Party, one of the parties in government, recently proposed a ban on the wearing of burqa in public. Interestingly, the MP who made the suggestion, Naser Khader, is himself a Muslim. Although it is unlikely that the ban will be imposed, this kind of political action is seen by some Muslims as an indicator of anti-Muslim sentiments.
Muslims' vote in local and regional elections is less predictable and depends on the candidates available in the different municipalities.
Unlike the elections for the National Parliament where the main themes of the elections during the last decade have been immigration and integration, the local elections witness parties' agendas that tend to focus on welfare at the local level (quality of public schools, day-care centers, old-age homes, hospitals, etc.). Attempts to put discussions on immigration and integration on the political agenda before and during the election period have failed.
For example, in September, the right-wing, pro-government Danish People's Party launched a campaign demanding a referendum on the right to build grand mosques in Denmark. However, politicians from both the government and the opposition rejected the campaign, arguing that the Muslim minority has, like other religious minorities, a constitutionally guaranteed right to build mosques in Denmark. This means that Danish Muslims can for this time engage in the elections as active citizens without having to pay attention to the last debates on immigration and integration.
Dr. Lene Kühle is associate professor at the Department for the Study of Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. Her main research areas are religion, theology, society, and politics. Click here to see her list of publications.
| Home | Daily News | We Are On... |
