Copenhagen, Nov 1 (AP) Denmark held a national election on Tuesday that is expected to change the Scandinavian nation's political landscape as new parties seek to enter parliament and others see their support dwindle.

Neither the centre-left nor the centre-right is expected to capture a majority, which is 90 seats in the 179-seat Folketing legislature. That could leave a former prime minister who left his party to create a new one this year in a kingmaker position if his votes are needed to form a new government.

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Domestic issues have dominated the campaign, ranging from tax cuts and a need to hire more nurses to financially supporting Danes amid inflation and soaring energy prices because of Russia's war in Ukraine.

“What I feel is important and is a worry to many are the soaring prices, whether it be electricity, bread or gasoline,” said Inge Bjerre Hansen, 82, after casting her vote in Copenhagen. “My son is reducing the number of his visits because it has become expensive to fill the tank (of his car).”

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Denmark's more than 4 million can choose among more than 1,000 candidates — the highest ever — from 14 parties.

At least three politicians are vying to become prime minister, including incumbent Mette Frederiksen, who steered Denmark through the COVID-19 pandemic and teamed up with the opposition to hike Danish defence spending in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Two centre-right opposition lawmakers — Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, the Liberal party leader, and Soren Pape Poulsen, who heads the Conservatives — hope to replace her.

“We are fighting to the end. It will be a close election,” Frederiksen said after voting north of Copenhagen. “I am optimistic but I am not sure of anything.”

Former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen created the new centrist Moderates party in June. According to pre-election polls, his party could get as much as 10 per cent of the vote. He has hinted he could see a ruling coalition with the Social Democrats and could also be considered a prime minister candidate.

“I think it will be close,” said Lokke Rasmussen, who was prime minister 2009-2011 and 2015-2019, said as he voted on Tuesday in Copenhagen.

Frederiksen has led a minority, one-party Social Democratic government since 2019, when she ousted Lokke Rasmussen.

Two new parties on the centre-right that want to limit immigration are bidding to enter parliament and may push out a third similar group that has had a key role in earlier governments by promoting stricter entry rules.

Among them are the Denmark Democrats, created in June by former hardline immigration minister Inger Stojberg. In 2021, Stojberg was convicted by the rarely used Impeachment Court for a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples if one of the partners was a minor.

She was eligible to run for office again after serving her 60-day sentence. Pollsters said her party could get around 7 per cent of the vote.

Such a showing would threaten the once-powerful populist, anti-immigration Danish People's Party, which has fallen apart in recent months amid internal disputes. Support for the Danish People's Party was hovering around the 2 per cent threshold needed to enter parliament. In 2015, the party grabbed 21.1 per cent of the vote.

Frederiksen has led a minority, one-party Social Democratic government since 2019, when she ousted Lokke Rasmussen.

Of the 179 seats in the Danish parliament, Denmark's two autonomous territories —the Faeroe Islands and Greenland - choose two each. Voting was held on Monday on the Faeroes -- Tuesday is a public holiday there - and one seat went to the centre-left and one to the centre-right, Danish broadcaster DR said on Tuesday. Voting in Greenland was taking place on Tuesday. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)