Sami election tight as well
Aftenposten Norway
September 12, 2005
Norway's indigenous Sami people were also voting Monday in their own elections for the Sami parliament (Sametinget). The passage earlier this year of the new Finnmark Law, granting the Samis more say over their Arctic homelands, adds a new dimension this time around.
The Sami parliament has existed for 16 years, and its 43 members will now have new powers under the new law
(Finnmarksloven) to influence the use of state lands in northern Norway.
Until now, around 96 percent of the land in Norway's most northerly county of Finnmark has been administered by the state. The new Finnmark Law transfers that administration to a commission made up of six persons, with three coming from the county council and three from the Sami parliament.
At stake are important decisions regarding everything from water and grazing rights, mining and other use of the Arctic lands.
The Norske Samers Riskforbund (NSR) has always held a majority in the Sami parliament and its presidential post. They aim to retain that, but the Labour Party was running a tight race against NSR.
NSR was campaigning heavily for its presidential candidate, Aili Keskitalo, who would be the first woman to lead Sametinget. If Labour wins, though, it would mark the first time a "Norwegian" party won the presidential post with its candidate Egil Olli.
The roughly 12,500 people eligible to vote in the Sami elections include Norwegian citizens with at least one great-grandparent who had Samisk as his or her native language.
The Sami elections involve 17 different parties in 13 jurisdictions from Southern Norway to Kautokeino. Geographical challenges mean that election results weren't expected for about 10 days.
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