At Stake in this Election:  

• All 179 members of the Danish Parliament. 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: King FREDERIK X (since 14 January 2024) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mette FREDERIKSEN (since 27 June 2019) 

• Assembly: unicameral, 179-seat Parliament (Folketing) 

Electoral System: 

• The monarchy is hereditary.  

• The Prime Minister is appointed by the King and is typically the leader of the majority party in Parliament.  

• Members of the Folketing are elected via a proportional representation system. 2 seats each are reserved for members from the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Members serve 4-year terms with no term limits. 

Last Election: 

The last election for parliament was held on November 1, 2022. The Social Democratic Party won 50 seats, the Liberal Party won 23 seats, Moderates won 16 seats, Green Left won 15 seats, Denmark Democrats won 14 seats, Liberal Alliance won 14 seats, Conservative People's Party won 10 seats, and Unity List-Red Green Alliance won 9 seats. Voter turnout was 84%.  

Information for Voters: 

Information til vælgere / Information for Voters (in Danish) 

New/Unique in this Election: 

Denmark was initially expected to hold parliamentary elections by end of October 2026. This is a snap election called by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in late February 2026.  

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 13 March 2026 

• Voter registration deadline: n/a, registration is passive 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Social Democrats / Socialdemokratiet 

• • Leader: Mette FREDERIKSEN 

• • Seats won in the last election: 50 seats out of 179 

• Liberals / Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti 

• • Leader: Troels Lund POULSEN 

• • Seats won in the last election: 23 seats out of 179 

• Moderates / Moderaterne 

• • Leader: Lars Løkke RASMUSSEN 

• • Seats won in the last election: 16 seats out of 179 

• Green Left / Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) 

• • Leader: Pia Olsen DYHR 

• • Seats won in the last election: 15 seats out of 179 

• Liberal Alliance 

• • Leader: Alex VANOPSLAGH 

• • Seats won in the last election: 14 seats out of 179 

• Denmark Democrats / Danmarksdemokraterne 

• • Leader: Inger STØJBERG 

• • Seats won in the last election: 14 seats out of 179 

• Conservatives / Det Konservative Folkeparti 

• • Leader: Mona JUUL 

• • Seats won in the last election: 10 seats out of 179 

• Red-Green Alliance / Enhedslisten 

• • Leader: Pelle DRAGSTED 

• • Seats won in the last election: 9 seats out of 179 

• Social Liberals / Radikale Venstre 

• • Leader: Martin LIDEGAARD 

• • Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 179 

• The Alternative / Alternativet 

• • Leader: Franciska ROSENKILDE 

• • Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 179 

• Danish People's Party / Dansk Folkeparti 

• • Leader: Morten MESSERSCHMIDT 

• • Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 179 

• Citizen's Party / Borgernes Parti 

• • Leader: Lars Boje MATHIESEN 

• • Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 179 

Country Context: 

• Population: 5,976,992 (2024 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 4,269,048 (2022) 

• V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index Score: 0.916 (2024) 

• V-Dem Regimes of the World Classification: Liberal Democracy (2024) 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.962, Very high, Rank 4 (2023) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 3,006,104 (2024 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 Jul 1980, Ratified 21 April 1983 

• Gender Quota: n/a 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 79 out of 179 (44%) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 15.2 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 24 July 2009  

• Projected population with a disability: 956,319 (2024 est.)