Denmark’s local and regional elections: Who are the future leaders?

The Conservative Party has been the biggest winner

On 16 November, Denmark’s citizens headed to the polls to cast their votes in the 2021 local and regional elections. Now, the country has counted the votes and selected the future leaders of almost all of its 98 municipalities.

Conservatives receive the most support

Local media report that the Conservative Party has been the biggest winner, seeing a rise in support in 92 of the 98 municipalities. The Danish People’s Party, on the other hand, has lost nearly 60% of support (from having 223 city council posts in the previous elections to just 91 this year). Furthermore, the Social Democrats have also lost support in the country’s four largest urban municipalities, namely in Odense, Aalborg, Aarhus, and Copenhagen. 

Despite this, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen from the Social Democrats will be the future mayor of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. What is more, Denmark’s youngest mayor Christina Krzyrosiak Hansen (S), age 28, has won the election in Holbæk after gaining 58.9% of the vote. 

Surprisingly, Frederiksberg's 112 years of conservative rule have also come to an end, with Michael Vindfeldt (S) winning the election and becoming the first Social Democrat mayor in the municipality's history.

According to local media, 88 municipalities have now appointed their future mayors. Expanding on this, citizens elected 38 new mayors and re-elected 50. To view the full list of the elected mayors, visit nyheder.tv2.dk. 

Who are the regional leaders?

On 17 November, local media further announced the leaders of Denmark’s 5 regions. The results of the regional elections are as follows:

1. Capital Region: Lars Gaardhøj (S)
2. Zealand: Heino Knudsen (S)
3. Southern Denmark: Stephanie Lose (V)
4. Central Jutland: Anders Kühnau (S)
5. Northern Jutland: Mads Duedahl (V)

Finally, it is important to note that Denmark recorded a voter turnout of only 67.2%, the third-lowest in 100 years.