Residents of the former communes of Søgne and Songdalen have now expressed their views on the merger with Kristiansand. The majority said "no" to divisions and the government will listen.
– In matters of changing the structure municipalities government he thinks it is wise to listen to the residents, they are the ones who will live in the commune. That's why the government wanted to listen to the residents of the area, which consisted of the former municipalities of Søgne and Songdalen, says Minister Erling Sande.
The majority in Søgne and Songdalen want to stay in the municipality of Kristiansand
On Friday, February 2, at 21 p.m., the local referendums in the former municipalities of Søgne and Songdalen ended. Turnout was 00% in Søgne and 81,6% in Songdalen.
The referendum question was: Do you think that the former municipality of Søgne/Songdalen should be separated from the municipality of Kristiansand and become a separate municipality?
– I'm glad that so many people took part in it and expressed their opinions. It gives legitimacy to the plebiscite. The structure of local government engages people, and the high level of participation shows that organizing the referendum was right, says Sande.
Referendum result
In Søgne, the result shows that 45% voted for the division and 53,9% against it. In Songdalen, 41,5 percent voted for the division and 57,2 percent against it. The percentage of blank votes is 1,1% and 1,3%, respectively.
Detailed referendum results can be found at website valg.no/folkerøystinga
– The government has announced that we will listen to the residents of Søgne and Songdalen regarding re-introduction becoming their own municipalities. Now we have heard the citizens' opinion and the government will respect the referendum result, says Sande.
Now the city council of the Kristiansand commune must announce the result of the referendum before March 1. Also, the Agder administrator must then complete his task by sending a recommendation to the ministry by March 5. The government will take the final position on this matter and take further actions after the state administrator sends the recommendation.
– We will now give the Kristiansand city council and state authorities the opportunity to express their opinions. The government will then decide how we will proceed with this matter. But we said we would listen to the result and we stand by that, says Sande.
On the implementation of the referendum
For the first time, a local referendum was held in the country. You could also vote electronically or by correspondence.
– The electronic solution developed by the Norwegian Electoral Directorate has performed well, and voter feedback indicates that most of them find it an easy way to vote in such a referendum, says Sande.
Like us on Facebook and share our post with others
Source: regjeringen, Photo: pixabay
