OSLO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Norway's ruling coalition led by the Labor Party suffered a setback in the local elections held on Monday.
According to official figures released on Wednesday, the largest party in the ruling coalition secured 575,175 votes or 21.6 percent of the total, which is 3.2 percentage less than its result in the last election. This was the worst election results the Labor Party had since 1924.
The other two main parties in the coalition, the Centrists and the left-wing Socialist Left, won 8.2 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, ranking them fourth and fifth.
The main opposition Conservative Party garnered 688,219 votes, translating to a vote share of 25.8 percent. This is an increase of 5.8 percentage points from the previous elections, making them the most voted-for party in these local elections.
The right-wing Progress Party came in third with 11.4 percent of the vote.
The preliminary counting of the votes from all regions has been completed, and 89 percent of these have already been cross-checked, election officials said.
Norway holds local elections every four years. The country has 4.34 million registered voters. Voter turnout for this election was 62.4 percent, according to official figures.
In a significant local news highlight, 19-year-old Havard Handeland was elected mayor of Sauda, a municipality in southern Norway with a population of 4,500. This makes him the youngest mayor in the nation's history. ■