1947 Danish Folketing election

Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 28 October 1947,[1] except in the Faroe Islands where they were held on 18 February 1948. The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 57 of the 150 seats. Voter turnout was 85.8% in Denmark proper and 60.1% in the Faroes.[2]

1947 Danish Folketing election

28 October 1947
All 150 seats in the Folketing 76 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats ± Social Democrats Hans Hedtoft 40.0 57 +9 Venstre Knud Kristensen 27.6 49 +11 Conservative Ole Bjørn Kraft 12.4 17 -9 Social Liberals Jørgen Jørgensen 6.9 10 -1 Communists Aksel Larsen 6.8 9 -9 Justice Oluf Pedersen 4.5 6 +3 Elected in the Faroe Islands People's Thorstein Petersen 42.7 1 0 Union Andrass Samuelsen 28.4 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister-elect Knud Kristensen Venstre Hans Hedtoft Social Democrats

Electoral system changes

Following legislation in December 1947 the representation of the Faroe Islands constituency was increased from one seat to two.[3] The two seats were elected using proportional representation with the D'Hondt method.[3]

Results

Denmark

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Social Democratic Party	834,089	40.0	57	+9
Venstre	529,066	25.4	46	+8
Conservative People's Party	259,324	12.4	17	–9
Danish Social Liberal Party	144,206	6.9	10	–1
Communist Party of Denmark	141,094	6.8	9	–9
Justice Party of Denmark	94,570	4.5	6	+3
Capital Venstre^[a]	45,829	2.2	3	New
Danish Unity	24,724	1.2	0	–4
Schleswig Party	7,464	0.4	0	New
Independents	3,775	0.2	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	4,874	–	–	–
Total	2,089,015	100	148	0
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

^a The Copenhagen branch of Venstre ran as a separate party in order to exploit the electoral law and was able to win compensatory seats. Following the election the other parties grouped together to push for changes to the system which were passed in 1948.[4]

Popular vote A   40.02% D   27.58% C   12.44% B   6.92% K   6.77% E   4.54% R   1.19% Others   0.54%

Faroe Islands

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
People's Party	4,135	42.7	1	0
Union Party	2,754	28.4	1	+1
Social Democratic Party	1,990	20.5	0	0
Self-Government Party	809	8.4	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	34	–	–	–
Total	9,722	100	2	+1
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p524 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p540
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p541
4. Nohlen & Stöver, p506