Newly-elected MP Emilie Schytte, who became independent shortly after the election in March, is in hot water after claims in Danish media that she actually lives in the Swedish city of Malmö. What happens if the reports are true?
Danish newspaper Information reports that Schytte posted at least 30 videos on Facebook which she listed as being located in Frederikssund, Denmark, but which the newspaper’s investigations reveal were actually filmed in Limhamn, Malmö.
Malmö is in southern Sweden and has not been part of Denmark since 1658.
Schytte’s husband is Swedish and the apartment in Malmö is registered under his name. The couple also own a house in Frederikssund, although neighbours in the area told Information that they rarely see them.
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Why is this important?
Danish MPs need to live in Denmark, which means that if Schytte in reality lives in Sweden she could lose her place in parliament. As she defected from the far-right Citizens’ Party shortly after the election, her seat would in that case go to the next person on the Citizens’ Party’s list ‒ Peter Faber. This means that the far-right party would regain the seat it lost when she defected.
The committee in charge of reviewing elections has asked the Interior Ministry to produce a statement on Schytte’s country of residence before parliament meets at 1pm on Tuesday.
Three MPs have defected from their respective parties since the election in March ‒ all from right-wing parties, which has effectively reduced the amount of seats held by the right-wing bloc. If Schytte is replaced by a new Citizens’ Party MP, this essentially means that the right-wing bloc as a whole gains another seat.
The results of the election were inconclusive with both sides technically able to achieve a 90 seat majority if they have the support of the Moderate Party, who play an important kingmaker role. Currently, the right wing bloc would need the support of at least two of the three independent MPs in parliament to achieve 90 seats. If Schytte is replaced then it would only need to have one independent on side.
It is also illegal to be registered at an incorrect address in Denmark’s population register ‒ the CPR system, and it’s not possible to be registered at more than one Nordic address at one time. If Schytte is registered in Frederikssund, it will be up to the municipality to determine whether she qualifies as being legally resident there, which it can do by for example asking for bank statements or other information which could prove that she is there regularly.
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What has Schytte said?
In a post on Facebook, Schytte explained that she is “in love with and married to a Swedish man and his two children, who I love as my own”.
She said that he lives in “his own apartment just on the other side of the Øresund bridge,” while she lives in Denmark. She wrote that she is in Sweden “a few days a month,” and that he visits her in Denmark when the children are not with him.Â