Social Democrats lead Denmark's election, neither bloc wins majority

Copenhagen, March 25 (IANS) Denmark's Social Democrats remained the largest party in Tuesday's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results from Denmark proper early Wednesday.

But neither the left-leaning red bloc nor the right-leaning blue bloc secured an outright majority in the Folketing, the unicameral Danish parliament, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Folketing comprises 179 seats in total -- 175 elected in Denmark proper, plus two each from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Results from Greenland and the Faroe Islands are yet to be finalised.

Preliminary results from Denmark proper showed that the Social Democrats won about 21.9 per cent of the vote and 38 seats, down by 12 from the previous election. The Socialist People's Party secured 20 seats, followed by Venstre, the Liberal Party of Denmark, with 18 seats. Liberal Alliance and the Danish People's Party each took 16 seats.

Based on the Denmark proper tally, the red bloc secured 84 seats, compared with 77 for the blue bloc. Since a majority in the Folketing requires 90 seats, the Moderates, which won 14 seats, were expected to play a pivotal role in the coming negotiations on government formation.

Speaking after the vote, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen signaled that she was prepared to take responsibility in the upcoming negotiations and continue seeking to lead the country, while acknowledging that talks to form a new government were unlikely to be easy.

Under Denmark's multi-party parliamentary system, elections often lead to coalition or minority governments. Talks among party leaders will determine the formation of the new government.

--IANS

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