– When special situations arise, it is practical for you to understand them, says Marianne Borgen (SV).
The mayor of Oslo is the head of the election board in the capital.
On May 25, they decided whether Lars Peter Solás should be removed from the Frp’s electoral list in Oslo. Solas wants it himself.
He is the Frp’s first candidate in the capital, but has been expelled from the party after he threatened and harassed journalists at a party at the Frp’s national meeting.
But now there are doubts whether he is allowed to withdraw from the electoral roll.
To stand in the election
To: Everyone who is on the electoral roll in Norway and who does not request an exemption before the deadline, must accept that they are candidates and can be elected.
In Oslo, the deadline is May 2. The date fixed by the municipality itself.
But: the municipality did not fully consider that deadline.
Because the Electoral Act also says that the voter lists must be approved by June 1.
Therefore, Oslo has said that Solas’ application may be considered at the election board meeting on May 25.
– He will get an approved exemption from the list. I’m sure of it, says Borgan.
Want to say no?
Oslo’s stance has caused confusion elsewhere in the country.
In the letter from the municipality of Steinkjer, they ask the government to clarify what is legal. As per the letter they have rejected the late applications themselves.
In its response, the ministry says it is not allowed to accept applications for exemption from the electoral rolls that come after the local deadline.
But there are some exceptions. The reason for delay in application for exemption is beyond the control of the candidates.
– Examples of such conditions include incorrect or insufficient information from the public or Conditions such as forced laborLike a storm, Siv Dolvan at the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs tells NTB.
Applications beyond this should be rejected, he says.
– Everyone benefits from this
It’s unclear what this means for whether Solas can be delisted.
Lars Arne Rystel, director at the city council’s secretariat, says he will carefully look at the ministry’s letter ahead of the May 25 meeting.
– We’ll come back to what kind of assessment we’re doing, Director Lars Arne Ryssdal in the secretariat of the city council says.
It is the municipality’s view that Solas’ case falls within the exemption requirements in the Act.
– Till now we might have thought that the exclusion of Solas from his party should fall under such an exclusion clause, says Rystal.
He says the municipality has also granted similar exemptions in the past.
Solas wants to remove himself from the list. FRP wants the same. This is part of the assessment, Ryssdal believes:
– All parties, voters and parties, are benefited by the exemption here.
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”