2003 Elections - Parliament
On 10 May 2003, the country's estimated 211,000 registered voters went to the polls to elect the 63 members of Parliament in an election contested by seven parties. Some 88 percent of the registered voters turned out to vote. Prior to the national elections in Iceland on 10 May 2003, changes were made to the constituencies so that the country is now divided into six constituencies: the northwest and northeast, south and southwest districts, Reykjavík north and Reykjavík south.
According to constitutional provisions on constituencies, which were adopted in June 1999, they must number at least six and no more than seven. The constituency boundaries are decided by law; however, the national electoral committee may be authorised to draw the boundaries in Reykjavík and the vicinity. Following each election to Althingi, if the number of registered voters represented by each parliamentary seat, including equalisation seats, in any constituency is less than half that of those in another constituency, the national electoral committee shall adjust the number of parliamentary seats in the constituencies to reduce this difference. The number of seats in each constituency must, however, be at least six. Changes to the constituency boundaries and arrangements for allocating seats in parliament, as prescribed by law, can only be made with the approval of two-thirds of votes cast in the Althingi. Prior to this Iceland was divided into eight constituencies, under arrangements which had prevailed since 1959.
In the Parliament (Althing), 54 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 9 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms. There are six multi-member districts. Each of nine compensatory seats is assigned by the election commission to corresponds to a multi-member district. These seats are awarded to parties from the same open lists in order to make the parties' overall seat shares proportional to their national vote shares. Parties must clear a 5 percent threshold to win these compensatory seats.
Iceland is a member of both the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and European Economic Association (EEA), and the turbulent EEA negotiations on access to the EU's internal market after enlargement had given rise to some debate on EU membership. Before the election, the country was governed by a centre-right coalition government formed by the Independence Party and the Progressive Party. The Independence Party leader and Prime Minister, Mr. David Oddsson, who had been in power for twelve years, was strongly opposed to EU membership while the Progressive Party was in favor.
In his campaign, Mr Oddsson focused on his economic record and offers of tax cuts. He had the advantage of having provided several years of steady economic growth. Iceland's economy grew by an average of 5 percent for six consecutive years before dipping slightly in 2002. Inflation and unemployment were also low, compared to elsewhere in the European Union and the Nordic countries. The opposition Social Democratic Alliance, headed by former Reykjavik Mayor Ms. Ingibjorg Sorlun Gisladottir, had pushed a campaign based largely on voter fatigue and a growing awareness that Iceland must do more to prevent a growing gap between rich and poor. Ms. Gisladottir promised to spend more of the country's revenue on housing, education and welfare. The Social Democratic Alliance also capitalised on criticism that the Independence Party had moved too slowly to reform a complex system set up in the 1980s, of distributing fishing quota licenses among Iceland's fisheries. However, the Social Democratic Alliance got less mileage out of its campaign to hold a referendum on whether Iceland should join the European Union.
Oddsson's conservative Independence Party won 22 of the 63 seats at stake, just two more than the rival Social Democratic Alliance, whose leader lost her own seat. With these results, the Independence Party remained the biggest force in Parliament despite losing four seats. The junior partner in the outgoing coalition, the Progressive Party, kept all of its 12 seats.
The Independence Party continued in government in coalition with the liberal Progressive Party. Shortly after the elections, Mr Oddsson announced that he intended to stand down as Prime Minister in September 2004 when Progressive Party leader and Foreign Minister Mr. Halldor Asgrimsson would take over the post. This agreement formed a crucial part of the deal under which the Progressive Party prolonged the coalition.
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