1971 Danish general election

General elections were held in Denmark on 21 September 1971 and in the Faroe Islands on 5 October. The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 70 of the 179 seats. Voter turnout was 87% in Denmark proper, 57% in the Faroe Islands and 52% in Greenland.

Electoral system

All members were elected by party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies and in levelling seats filled at-large using overall party vote shares. The districts elected between 2 and 14 members each. They were the first elections using the new counties as constituencies.

Campaign

The incumbent Baunsgaard government called an early election as a referendum on the Danish ascension to the common market. The campaign was also dominated by the policies of austerity instituted by the government.

Aftermath

The election result was one of the closest in Danish history, with the right and left mainland blocks separated by only one seat. Ultimately former prime minister Jens Otto Krag was returned to power through an agreement with the two independents elected from the Greenland constituencies.