2021 Aarhus municipal election

2021 Aarhus municipal election

16 November 2021
All 31 seats to the Aarhus Municipal Council 16 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	196,274 (68.2%) 2.3pp
First party Second party Third party   A C F Party Social Democrats Conservatives Green Left Last election 13 seats, 37.8% 1 seat, 4.2% 3 seats, 9.2% Seats won 10 5 4 Seat change 3 4 1 Popular vote 55,295 28,077 26,439 Percentage 28.7% 14.6% 13.7% Swing 9.1% 10.4% 4.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   V Ø B Party Venstre Red–Green Alliance Danish Social Liberal Party Last election 6 seats, 15.3% 2 seats, 7.2% 2 seats, 8.2% Seats won 4 3 3 Seat change 2 1 1 Popular vote 2,2835 19,044 17,761 Percentage 11.9% 9.9% 9.2% Swing 3.4% 2.7% 1.0%   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   D O I Party The New Right Danish People's Party Liberal Alliance Last election 0 seats, 1.1% 2 seats, 6.4% 1 seat, 4.1% Seats won 1 1 0 Seat change 1 1 1 Popular vote 6,174 5,252 3,496 Percentage 3.2% 2.7% 1.8% Swing 2.1% 3.7% 2.3%
Result in each polling area
Mayor before election Jacob Bundsgaard Social Democrats Mayor after election Jacob Bundsgaard Social Democrats

Being one of the strongest municipalities for parties of the traditional red bloc, Jacob Bundsgaard from the Social Democrats, who had been mayor since 2014, was expected to be re-elected in this election. In the campaign before the election, Jacob Bundsgaard did remarkably not include his party logo or name on his election posters.

However, he would still suffer seat losses similar to those the Social Democrats saw in all 4 largest municipalities of Denmark in the 2021 Danish local elections.

As in the 2017 Aarhus municipal election, Jacob Bundsgaard became the person to receive the most personal votes in Denmark as a whole, however he received only 19,279 compared to 39,841 in 2017.

Despite being the biggest party, the Social Democrats lost 3 seats, but the parties of the traditional red bloc won 20 of the 31 seats, and it was later announced that Jacob Bundsgaard would continue as mayor.

Electoral system

For elections to Danish municipalities, a number varying from 9 to 31 are chosen to be elected to the municipal council. The seats are then allocated using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation. Aarhus Municipality had 31 seats in 2021

Unlike in Danish General Elections, in elections to municipal councils, electoral alliances are allowed.

Electoral alliances

Source

Electoral Alliance 1

Electoral Alliance 2

Electoral Alliance 3

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Aarhus Municipality
	Social Democrats	55,295	28.74	10	-3
	Conservatives	28,077	14.59	5	+4
	Green Left	26,439	13.74	4	+1
	Venstre	22,835	11.87	4	-2
	Red–Green Alliance	19,044	9.90	3	+1
	Danish Social Liberal Party	17,761	9.23	3	+1
	The New Right	6,174	3.21	1	+1
	Danish People's Party	5,252	2.73	1	-1
	Liberal Alliance	3,496	1.82	0	-1
	The Alternative	2,523	1.31	0	-1
	Christian Democrats	1,554	0.81	0	0
	Trivsel & Reel Borgerinddragelse	1,325	0.69	0	0
	Vegan Party	994	0.52	0	New
	De Grønne	651	0.34	0	New
	Freedom List	306	0.16	0	New
	Bedre Aarhus	300	0.16	0	New
	Kommunisterne	213	0.11	0	New
	Egalitært Folkeparti	90	0.05	0	New
	Partiet Samfundssind	74	0.04	0	New
Total		192,403	100.00	31	0
Valid votes		192,403	98.03
Invalid votes		864	0.44
Blank votes		3,007	1.53
Total votes		196,274	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		287,767	68.21
Source: KMD