Norway vote: Labour Party expected to take narrow victory

Oslo: Norway goes to the polls on Monday on the final day of a parliamentary election which saw issues like rising living costs at home and chaos in international politics taking centre stage.

Based on data from opinion polls, the ruling center-left Labour Party seemed to have a slight edge and is likely to remain in power.

The left-leaning alliance consisting of Labour and four smaller parties is expected to win 88 seats in parliament, three more than the minimum needed to secure a majority, but down from a combined 100 seats in 2021, according to an average of recent opinion polls.

On the right, the populist Progress Party, the center-right Conservatives and two smaller groups are likely to win the remaining 81 seats, but the race remains tight and could depend on the performance of the smallest parties.

The first projected result will be out after the polling ends at 1900 GMT.

At least nine political parties are expected to win seats in the vote but only the leaders of Labour, Progress and the Conservatives are candidates for prime minister.

The campaigns by the political parties centered around domestic issues like inflation, abolition of wealth taxes and the quality of public services.

Apart from these topics, the tumultuous state of international politics because of the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump's tariffs and Israeli policy in Gaza were also heavily discussed.

According to observers, the uncertainty in globals politics could also give the ruling Labour Party an edge due to voters's perceived desire for the stability of an incumbent government.