Denmark to hold parliamentary election on June 5

Copenhagen [Denmark]: Denmark will hold a general election on June 5 to elect new MPs to the 179-member Parliament or the Folketing, the country’s prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Tuesday.

Rasmussen’s minority government, which has the outside support of far-right Danish People’s Party, has passed several legislations on tightening asylum and immigration rules, according to media reports.

Rasmussen, who heads the Liberal Party, is in coalition with Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives and has been in power since 2015.

According to latest opinion polls, Rasmussen’s centre-right coalition will cede power to the opposition left-wing bloc, headed by the Social Democrats.

While the ruling coalition would get 46 per cent of votes, the bloc led by Social Democrats would garner 54 per cent of votes, media reports said.

Rasmussen’s four-year term is slated to end on June 17 and has to hold a general election before his tenure finishes.

Rasmussen has also served as Denmark’s premier from 2009 to 2011.

In the last few months, the anti-immigration stance of the Danish People’s Party has received a thumbs-up by several political parties, including the Social Democrats.

According to election observers, it is likely that if the Social Democrats win, it could forge an alliance with the far-right party if the two sides reach an understanding of anti-immigration issues.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]