Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Constitution and Administration. Introd. by E. Hildebrand - 1. Constitution. By E. Hildebrand - Composition and Procedure of the Riksdag. By [J. P. Velander] T. Hedrén
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■2-20
III. CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION.
According to the new distribution of seats of 1914, Stockholm forms
two constituencies with 8 and 7 deputies respectively, Gothenburg one with
7 deputies, Malmö one with 4 deputies, Norrköping and Linköping one with
3 deputies, and Hälsingborg, Landskrona and Lund one, also with 3
deputies. Thus these six urban constituencies together elect 32 deputies,
The other towns are combined, by counties, with country districts so as
to form 50 constituencies in all, 1—3 in each county; and these
constituencies elect together 198 members, 3—6 in each constituency. The
present division into constituencies is laid down in the Election Law;
but the number of members which each constituency has to elect in
proportion to the population is settled for each three-year period by the
Government.
The Organic Law of 1866 underwent so many changes in consequence of
the new regulations of 1909 that it may justly be regarded as repealed and
replaced by a new fundamental law. According to the law of 1866, in the
country every judicial district (domsaga) was to elect one representative; and if
the district had more than 40 000 inhabitants, it was divided into two
constituencies. As regards the towns, the largest (with more than 10 000 inhabitants)
had a right to elect one representative for each full ten thousand of the
population; the smaller towns were grouped together in constituencies of at least
6 000 and at the most 12 000 inhabitants each. In fact, the country in this
manner was given one representative for about 27 000 inhabitants, while the
towns were given one for about 10 000: this peculiar circumstance is explained
by the need of a certain protection for the interests of the towns, which would
otherwise remained in a very marked minority, since their inhabitants in 1866
numbered only 12 % of the total population of the Kingdom. In consequence
of these regulations, the country had, at the Riksdag of 1867, 135
representatives, and at that of 1894, 145. The number of the representatives of the
towns, on the other hand, owing to the more rapid increase of population, grew
during the same period of time from 55 to 83. In order to check this
inequality, the majority in the Riksdag of 1894 succeeded in carrying new
regulations, according to which the number of members was fixed at 150 for the
country and 80 for the towns.
The right to vote for the Second Chamber is now possessed by every
male Swede of good character, without respect to means, but not till after
the year in which he reached the age of 24 and not if he is under
guardianship, or is bankrupt, or is liable for rates or taxes -which have fallen due
during the last three calendar years, or is in receipt of public assistance,
or has neglected his military service.
For eligibility to the Second Chamber it is necessary that a man should
be qualified for the parliamentary franchise and be domiciled within the
constituency. This last requirement, which was introduced in 1866, is an
expression of the Swedish people’s marked dislike of professional
politicians. The "constituency", however, as has already been indicated above,
was enlarged in 1909 from the old limit of a judicial district, a town, or
a collection of small-toWns, so as to embrace, as a rule, a whole county
or county-council area including minor towns. — The elections are for a
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