Elections put leftist leader on track to be Norway's new premier

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) – With a landslide win, the leader of Norway’s Labor Party is on track to be the country’s new prime minister, according to official results and media reports.

Preliminary results from Monday's elections show that a sizeable majority of voters cast ballots for left-wing parties, the EU Observer reported.

Conservative Premier Erna Solberg – who has been in power since 2013 – congratulated Labor Party leader Jonas Gahr Store on his victory.

Five center-left parties including Labor "are poised for a sizeable majority in Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament – as many as 100 out of 169 seats," said the EU Observer.

The future of Norway as Europe’s largest oil and gas producer dominated the election, after a summer of raging wildfires and soaring temperatures worldwide continued to bear out pessimistic reports by climate scientists.

Store favors a gradual transition away from the oil-dominated economy, and also vowed to tackle growing inequality.