The Sami Parliamentary election

Elections for the Sami Parliament are held on the same day as the Norwegian Parliamentary elections. A total of 39 Sami Parliamentary representatives are elected from seven constituencies that cover the entire country. Everyone who is registered in the Sámediggi's electoral roll can vote or be nominated for Sámediggi elections. Anyone who perceives themselves as Sami and who either has Sami as their home language, or who has a parent, grandparent and great-grandparent with Sami as their mother tongue, can register in the electoral roll. Admittance to the electoral role is thus based on both objective and subjective criterion. Both must be met, where the former is measurable and verifiable, while the latter is based on emotion and personal perception. There is no one but you who can decide if you perceive yourself as Sami. Due to the state Norwegianisation policy of more than 100 years, there are many Sami today who do not know the language and many Sami who do not feel Sami either. It is therefore important to have a personal connection to Sámi people when registering in the Sámi Parliament's electoral roll. The electoral roll is often called the "Sami census", but this is not a correct term. No one knows exactly how many Sami there are in Norway because the country does not make registers of ethnicity. The Sami Parliament's electoral roll only says how many Sami people have registered to be able to take part in the Sami Parliamentary elections in Norway.