enkeltmandskredse

Enkeltmandskredse refers to electoral districts in Denmark, specifically those used for electing members to the Folketing, the Danish parliament. These districts are a fundamental component of Denmark's proportional representation system. The country is divided into a number of constituencies, and within each constituency, a certain number of seats are allocated. The purpose of these districts is to ensure that the distribution of parliamentary seats reflects the overall votes cast for political parties as closely as possible.

The process of dividing Denmark into enkeltmandskredse is overseen by the Ministry of the Interior. The boundaries are redrawn periodically to account for population changes, ensuring that each district has a roughly equal number of voters. This is crucial for maintaining the principle of equal suffrage. In addition to the direct seats won within each enkeltmandskreds, there are also a number of additional seats, known as leveling seats, which are distributed nationally among parties to correct any disproportionalities arising from the constituency elections. This dual system aims to combine local representation with national proportionality. The term itself translates literally to "single-member districts" in English, though the Danish system is more nuanced than a pure single-member district system due to the presence of leveling seats.