Image copyright EPA Image caption Erna Solberg is projected to be Norway's first Conservative PM to be re-elected since 1985

Norway's Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg appears set for a second term after claiming victory in the country's general election.

Ms Solberg's ruling coalition with the Progress Party is slated to win 89 of 169 seats, with 95% of votes counted.

The opposition Labour Party appears to have maintained its position as the largest single group in parliament.

Ms Solberg said voters had given her "a mandate for four more years" but urged caution as results were being counted.

"It looks like a clear victory," Ms Solberg said to a group of her supporters in Oslo, adding: "Our solutions have worked; we have created jobs."

Confirmation of the win would make Ms Solberg, 56, the first centre-right leader in three decades to be re-elected Norway's prime minister.

Her conservative coalition with the anti-immigration Progress Party ran a campaign promising tax cuts, which it said would help to boost economic growth.

The opposition Labour Party, led by 57-year-old former foreign minister Jonas Gahr Store, campaigned on a promise to raise taxes for the wealthiest in a bid to improve public services.

The party, which has been the biggest political party in Norway since the 1920s, was projected to take 80 seats.

Norway has not seen a Conservative-led government retain power in an election since 1985.</s>Norway's tax-cutting Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg declared victory on Tuesday after a parliamentary election, narrowly defeating a Labour-led opposition with her promises of steady management of the oil-dependent economy.

The win is historic for Solberg, whose supporters compare her firm management style to that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, because no Conservative-led government has retained power in an election in Norway since 1985.

"It looks like a clear victory," for the centre-right, a beaming Solberg told cheering supporters in Oslo just after midnight (2200 GMT), following Monday's voting.

"Our solutions have worked. We have created jobs," she said, but warned, "We have some challenges ahead. ... Oil revenues are going to be lower. We all must take responsibility."

The ruling minority coalition of her Conservatives and the populist Progress Party, together with two small centre-right allies, was set to win a slim majority with 88 seats in the 169-seat parliament, according to an official projection with over 90 percent of the votes counted.

Opposition Labour leader Jonas Gahr Stoere told supporters that it looked like his party, the main force in Norwegian politics in the 20th century, had fallen short. "It's a big disappointment," he said.

Solberg, 56, plans more tax cuts as a way to stimulate growth for Norway's top oil and gas producer. Stoere favours tax increases to improve public services such as education and healthcare for Norway's 5 million citizens.

The oil industry could be affected by the vote, because Solberg will need support from two green-minded, centre-right allies to ensure a majority to pass legislation in parliament. The allies include the Liberals, who want to limit exploration in Arctic waters.

Solberg's Conservative Party was set to lose three seats to 45 in parliament, making her more dependent on outsiders' help. That means it may be more difficult to have a stable government.

"They (The Liberals and the Christian Democrats) will support Solberg as prime minister, but the question is whether they get a firm agreement or if there is cooperation on a case-by-case basis," said Elisabeth Ivarsflaten, a professor in comparative politics at the University of Bergen.

"Then it may be a weaker government," she told Reuters.

The Norwegian currency, the crown, strengthened slightly following the first projections after weakening sharply earlier in the day on weaker-than-expected inflation data.

For much of the year, Labour and its allies were favoured by pollsters to win a clear victory, but support for the government has risen as the economy gradually recovered from a slump in the price of crude oil, Norway's top export.

Unemployment, which a year ago hit a 20-year high of 5 percent, has since declined to 4.3 percent, while consumer confidence is at a 10-year high. Solberg has won credit for the upturn with a no-nonsense style of management.

Norway's economy also has the cushion of a sovereign wealth fund worth almost $1 trillion, the world's biggest, built on income from offshore oil and gas.

"Regardless of which government we get, the challenge will be to use less oil money," said Erik Bruce, chief analyst at Nordea Markets. "There is broad consensus about the outlook for the sovereign wealth fund and the Norwegian economy, which means a tighter fiscal policy."

The sovereign wealth fund has wanted to invest in unlisted infrastructure to boost its return on investment. Finance Minister Siv Jensen has twice said no to the request over the past two years, citing political risk. That stance is unlikely to change now that the government has been re-elected.

Labour was set to remain the biggest party in Norway, with 49 seats, just ahead of the Conservatives.

Stoere, who sometimes compares himself to French President Emmanuel Macron, took over the leadership of the Labour Party from Jens Stoltenberg, who left Norwegian politics to become NATO's secretary-general.

Solberg's coalition partner, the populist Progress Party, has sharply limited immigration to Norway in what Stoere says is a betrayal of Norwegian values.

"We have done our share of the job. We have delivered," Finance Minister Siv Jensen, leader of the Progress Party, told party supporters as they chanted "four more years".

Norway's problems are small by the standards of most nations. Apart from its sovereign wealth fund, Norway tops U.N. lists of the best country in which to live, based on issues such as personal earnings and education. It even rose to first, from fourth, in a 2017 survey that ranked nations by happiness.</s>COPENHAGEN: Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg hinted Tuesday her two-party minority coalition could continue in power, but stopped short of saying whether it could be expanded by including traditional support parties.

Solberg says the four center-right parties should "talk" after Monday's election that saw them mustering a majority of 89 seats in the 169-seat parliament, the Storting.

She declined to say whether her Conservatives and the anti-immigration Progress Party would continue as a coalition for the next four years with the support of the Liberals and the Christian Democrats, or include them in a new government.

The leftist Labor Party remained Norway's largest party, but its likely coalition partners didn't get enough seats to put the left in power.</s>Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg has won a mandate for a further four years in government after a tense election night victory over Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre.
• Liberal Party makes it over threshold to secure conservative winner

We're closing our live blog now after an election that threatened to surpass its billing as a thriller and remained close throughout. Erna Solberg has held her majority, Labour and Jonas Gahr Støre have underperformed, the Progress Party has stabilised and the agrarian Centre Party are the night's biggest success story.

Will Erna Solberg look to change the composition of her government despite Knut Arild Hareide's reluctance? How does Jonas Gahr Støre's future as Labour leader look after losing the vote? These will be two of the questions likely to be discussed in the wake of this 2017 election.

Thank you for reading.

01:01am Hareide: We will not go into government with Progress Party

In a post-election debate held at the Stortinget parliament, Christian Democrat leader Knut Arild Hareide says his party will not go into government with the populist Progress Party. Hareide also confirms that he will not oppose Erna Solberg's government, apparently placing the Christian Democrats as a "confidence and supply" parliamentary ally of the government - the same role the party played in the 2013-17 term.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party has gained ground as the last votes were counted, and are now on 4.3 percent, giving them a slightly larger than the Christian Democrats on 4.2 percent -- but with both over the all-important 4 percent threshold.

00:19am "A thousand thanks for your efforts"

Erna Solberg concludes her speech in front of a roaring Conservative Party HQ and tells reporters that she "believes" the majority is secure as she leaves the conference hall at the SAS Hotel.

00:16am: Solberg says mandate for four more years comes from delivering on promises

“We campaigned on safe government, we have shown we deliver,” says Erna Solberg.

The PM thanks conservative party leaders Siv Jensen (Progress), Trine Skei Grande (Liberal) and Knut Arild Hareide (Christian Democrats) in her speech, and says that she has invited the three to a conversation about future collaboration between the parties.

"Four more years" shouts the crowd as the PM takes to the stage.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg -- who now looks close to being confirmed as the election winner -- is the last party leader to speak. She will give a speech at the SAS Hotel shortly.

"We hoped for a better result, there is no reason to try to hide it," says Støre, whose party has lost around seven percent of the vote.

Støre vows to fight on for campaign values, including increasing youth employment.

"Regardless of how it ends, we must all move on," he adds.

The Labour leader has conceded neither the election nor his party leadership.

Could tactical voting in swing areas have helped the Liberal party over the crucial threshold?

11:46pm: "We are going to cross the threshold": Grande

"We must have ice in our veins, because it will come down to a few votes," says a confident Trine Skei Grande.

Liberal Party leader Trine Skei Grande, whose party's struggle to reach the four percent parliament threshold has kept the result in doubt, is now speaking before supporters.

Aftenposten is now reporting a Conservative majority along with a near-collapse for Labour.

This gives an overall victory to Erna Solberg and the conservative bloc by 88 seats to 81.

The Progress Party is currently forecast to lose one seat overall, putting it on 28 seats.

11:14pm: Down to the wire?

Just under 78 percent of the votes have now been counted.

Erna Solberg’s conservative bloc retains a narrow lead with 87 seats compared to 82 on the left side of the aisle. But current projections have Solberg still reliant on both the Liberal and Christian Democrat parties meeting the threshold – and the former is hanging on by a thread.

11:06pm: Progress does well in rural areas

The populist Progress Party has done well in heartlands such as the Møre og Romsdal region, but, like both the Conservatives and Labour, has lost ground nationally.

11:03pm: Result is not certain

“Whatever the outcome, one thing is certain. It’s been a wonderful night for the Centre Party,” says leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum in his speech.

The Centre Party could gain as many as eight seats.

Aftenposten is reporting that the uncertainty regarding whether the Liberal party will reach the threshold could be the difference between a conservative majority and a dead heat, which could mean the one-seat Green Party holding the outcome in its hands.

The Greens have not committed themselves to supporting either bloc, but have said that they will not form any kind of alliance with the Progress Party.

SV leader Audun Lysbakken believes that the result can still go either way.

“The majority can still fall on the right side in this election,” he said during his speech.

Lysbakken’s optimism carries some weight. The Liberal party is very close to the four percent threshold required for parties to qualify for increased parliamentary representation. Should the right-centre party not make the cut, the overall winner could be thrown back into the balance.

This is not quite done and dusted yet.

Christian Democrat leader Knut Arild Hareide and the Socialist Left's Audun Lysbakken have already given speeches before their supporters. No official word from Støre or Solberg so far.

Some supporters of the red bloc have begun to resort to humour.

10:06pm: Not much drama at Stortinget

This is the scene Oslo's Stortinget parliament, where a big screen has been set up to broadcast election coverage. There does not appear to be much of a crowd, though.

10:01pm: Who has had the best election?

It looks like being the agrarian Centre Party, the anti-EU, pro-decentralisation party that would support Støre as PM.

The party is currently forecast to gain 4.4 points on its 2013 vote share.

9:57pm: "The gap in favour of Solberg widens"

The Norwegian Directorate of Elections, which updates its prognosis as votes are counted, is now reporting the count as 40 percent complete.

At this stage, Erna Solberg has a clear majority with 89 seats to Jonas Gahr Støre’s 80.

Labour are projected to achieve 23 percent of the popular vote. This would represent a catastrophic outcome for the party, far below the 30 percent target it had set itself to topple Solberg. Labour achieved 30.8 percent in 2013 – and still lost.

The smaller parties to the left of centre have generally done well, according to the ongoing prognosis.

The Socialist Left, Centre and Green parties all look set to increase their overall representation.

But that seems unlikely to be enough to save Støre.

Aftenposten reports a jubilant Progress Party at its Ålesund base when the results were announced.

The populist party, a current coalition partner, looks to have gained at least three seats and taken 25 percent of the popular vote.

“It the prognosis turns out to be true, this is completely exceptional – both for the municipality [where the seats are predicted gained, ed.] and for the party on a national level,” Progress Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug told the newspaper.

9:30pm: Green Party non-committal

 

 “We must wait until all votes are counted,” the Green Party’s Lan Marie Berg tells NRK.

The environmental party has been touted as a potential kingmaker in the election, and has not committed to supporting either side.

Norwegian media are reporting that the prognosis is "not good enough" for Jonas Gahr Støre and Labour.

9:19pm: Result far from certain

It should be noted that the initial prognosis is subject to change -- it has already been updated several times since 9:00, when the initial prediction was 88-81 in favour of Solberg. The sitting PM still has a narrow overall majority.

Current prognosis gives Erna Solberg's "blue bloc" 85 seats to 84 in support of a Jonas Gahr Støre-led government.

The strong showing from the two government parties is in contrast with poor showings by parliamentary allies the Liberal and Christian Democrat parties – both look in danger of falling below the four percent threshold required for party representation in Norway’s Stortinget parliament.

Even if these two parties are absent from parliament, the Conservative/Progress coalition may still be enough for an overall blue bloc victory.

The Norwegian Directorate of Elections prognosis, released at 9pm, gives both coalition partners the Conservatives and Progress Party strong enough results to enable Erna Solberg to stay in place as prime minister.

The Labour leader is now also in place. Our next post will bring you the initial prognosis for the election result.

Meanwhile, Solberg’s challenger Jonas Gahr Støre is now in place at Folkets Hus, where he will follow results as they are announced.

“I have a good gut feeling. I’ve had the same thing before, and it went well then,” Aftenposten reports Støre as saying as he crossed the Youngstorget square on his way to the congress centre.

If you haven't yet prepared snacks to get you through the night, this could be the perfect solution.

8:20pm: "It will be an exciting evening": Solberg

Erna Solberg has arrived at the SAS hotel in Oslo, where her Conservative (Høyre) Party is gathering to await the announcement of results.

"I'm in good shape, I'm good at waiting, you know," the PM told media outside the hotel.

7:51pm: Just over an hour left to vote

"Now it's urgent!", writes the Norwegian Directorate of Elections on Twitter, while helpfully linking directions to voting stations.

7:39pm: Meanwhile, here are some useful links to get you up to speed with what is happening today and tonight.
• Here's what Norway's newspapers are saying about election day
• Five things to know about Norway's election
• All the news from the build-up to Norway's general election

7:35pm: Flashback to The Local’s coverage of the 2013 election

Here’s how we reported the parliamentary election four years ago, when Erna Solberg swept into power, seeing off incumbent Jens Stoltenberg, who had been PM since 2005.

How likely is a similar headline tonight?

This is nice – and perhaps demonstrative of how important every vote is considered to be in the 2017 election. Students of the American College of Norway taking senior citizens to vote by rickshaw.

7:16pm: No voting under the influence

Shops do not generally sell alcohol on Norwegian election days – ostensibly to prevent citizens from casting their votes while inebriated (read into that what you will). There appear to be some exceptions this year, however.

7:10pm: How early will we have an idea of the result?

At 9pm, when voting closes, the embargo on Norwegian media publishing forecasts of the election result will be lifted. But how accurate are the early projections likely to be?

The prognosis that is made public at 9pm is based on the votes already counted prior to that time, writes NRK.

27.3 percent of votes were cast in advance of this year’s election day, according to the broadcaster. Most of these will have been counted by the time poll stations closed. Additionally some counting of the votes cast Monday will be completed in time for those to be included in the prognosis.

NRK estimates that the initial prognosis will be based on around one million votes – a large chunk of Norway’s 5.233 million population.

A number of votes have already been counted. Advance votes were counted manually after Minister of Local Government and Modernisation Jan Tore Sanner decided last week not to make use of a digital counting system due to concerns over data security. A record number of people have taken up the option to vote in advance of polling day, reports broadcaster NRK.

5:37pm: Where did the prime ministerial candidates vote?

The leaders of all of Norway’s nine main parties were pictured casting their votes during Monday.

Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre, who represents the one of the Oslo seats in parliament, voted at the polling station at Svendstuen school in the capital.

Bergen native Erna Solberg cast her vote in her home city, at the Apeltun school polling station.

Turnout figures will not be available until later, but a record number of election observers have participated in today’s poll, reports news agency NTB.

A total of 158 Norwegian and foreign observers are monitoring proceedings in a number of regions.

“There have never been so many election observers present,” Minister of Local Government and Modernisation Jan Tore Sanner told NTB.

5:00pm: Welcome to our live blog

Election day is finally here. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am and will close at 9:00 pm, when the first partial results will be released.

We're going to keep you covered as results come in here on this live blog, and we will be posting content on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

 Join the discussions in the comments sections and we may use your quotes in a story.

 

 In the meantime, here are some useful links to get you up to speed with exactly what's happening on a day in which Norway will either continue with sitting PM Erna Solberg or choose a new direction under Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre. Either way, it looks like it's going to be close.
• Here's what Norway's newspapers are saying about election day
• Five things to know about Norway's election
• All the news from the build-up to Norway's general election
The right-wing coalition led by Erna Solberg wins its second term in office in the Norwegian parliamentary election held late yesterday.