Norwegian democracy has no protection mechanisms in place to deal with a prime minister that refuses to resign. According to a Norwegian law professor, the recent events in the USA should be a wake-up call for Norwegian elected representatives.
Today, the outgoing prime minister must formally appoint the new prime minister in Norway, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) writes.
“In Norway, all prime ministers have so far resigned, but it is not certain that a Trump-like prime minister Trump would have done so,” law professor Eirik Holmøyvik told Advokatbladet.
Holmøyvik sat on the Election Law Committee, which presented a recommendation to the government in 2020.
The committee advocated the establishment of an impartial and independent body in the event of a dispute over the outcome of the election.
The Election Law Committee also proposed introducing a right of appeal on the validity of parliamentary elections, which would then be decided by the Supreme Court.
No tools to resolve conflict
“The scheme we have now is entirely dependent on a strong political culture.
“As of today, we have neither institutional means nor tools to ensure a correct and impartial treatment in the event of a conflict over the election result,” Holmøyvik warned.
The Council of Europe has said that the Norwegian system’s weakness is that the Constitution states that the newly elected Norwegian parliament (Storting) must approve the election result.
Minister of Local Government and Modernization Nikolai Astrup (H) says that Norway must have a “robust system” and institutions that can withstand it, should the political culture be challenged.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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