2017 Elections - Parliament
These elections were the second early elections within a year, necessitated by the withdrawal of one coalition partner following a judicial affair involving the Prime Minister’s father. Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson called a snap election in September, after less than a year in government as a scandal involving his father prompted the Bright Future party to drop out of his ruling coalition. The centrist Bright Future Party accused Benediktsson of a "serious breach of trust" following allegations that the prime minister tried to cover up his father's role in clearing the record of a convicted pedophile. In addition to the political scandals, a growing sense of inequality and unease about immigration in one of the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations have rattled a democracy known for its political and social stability.
The elections were administered efficiently and professionally with respect for fundamental principles of democratic elections. They were characterized by a high level of public confidence in the election administration and active voter participation. Many of the procedures in place, including for candidate registration, early voting and election day, are grounded in long-standing practice rather than legislation, at times leading to varying implementation. While political and campaign finance is regulated, there are no specific reporting requirements on campaign-related expenditures.
The myriad of institutions and structures involved in election administration without clear authority of one institution over the other leads to complexity and at times varying implementation as well as application of legal provisions. While this structure is well established in practice and appears to function well, consistency and standardization in the administration of elections could be enhanced.
The party system is insufficiently funded to support the political process. The total amount of public subsidy remained constant since its reduction during the financial crisis. However, inflation and a greater number of political groupings drawing on the same amount have resulted in an overall decline in the level of support that parties receive from the state. The law establishes limits on campaign expenses incurred by candidates, but does not limit spending by political parties. Since there are no provisions for individual candidates to stand in parliamentary elections, the spending limit applies principally to primary elections organized by some political parties to elect their candidates ahead of elections.
Icelanders, angry over a string of political scandals, ousted the center-right government in an election that could pave the way for a young charismatic opposition leader to form a left-leaning coalition, final vote counts showed on 29 October 2017. With the defeat of incumbent Benediktsson's coalition government, his main opponent, the Left-Green Movement's Katrin Jakobsdottir, may get a chance to form a narrow majority in parliament.
The parliament would split between eight parties. There are two new parties while one of the parties in the current tri-party government failed to secure enough votes to remain in parliament.
The Independence Party, the main partner in the current government coalition, lost 4 percentage points from the 2016 election to land 25 percent of the vote. The Left-Greens came in second with 17 percent, up 1 percentage point from 2016, and its probable ally the Social Democrats in third with 12 percent, almost doubling its share. The new Centre Party, which was formed in September by former Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson, won 11 percent of the votes. The Pirate Party, which rode on a wave of anger against the establishment to become the third biggest party in parliament, stood to get 9 percent of vote, down from 14 percent
The result showed a Left-Green-led coalition was possible if they joined forces with the Social Democrats, the Progressive Party and the Pirate Party as they would hold 32 of parliament's 63 seats. Typically the president tasks the leader of the party that won the most votes with trying to form the next government, which would be Benediktsson, who leads the Independence Party. But given that he has no clear path to forming a new government President Gudni Johannesson could task the head of the Greens with forming the next Cabinet.
Iceland on 30 November 2017 formed a “highly unusual” left-right coalition a month after a general election, in a bid to stabilise politics in the nation which has seen rising distrust of a scandal-ridden elite. Leader of the Left-Green Movement Katrin Jakobsdottir, 41, became Iceland’s second woman prime minister as her party reached an agreement with the conservative Independence Party and the centre-right Progressive Party.
“It’s a very interesting moment actually in Icelandic political history because these three parties are very different,” Jakobsdottir told AFP, adding it is “highly unusual” for them to cooperate. After a competitive election campaign, Jakobsdottir will now partner with former prime minister and Independence Party leader Bjarni Benediktsson, 47, who was her main rival in the October 28 snap vote. Mentioned in the Panama Papers, which exposed offshore tax havens, and accused of selling almost all his assets before the 2008 economic collapse, Benediktsson had faced heavy criticism by the opposition and in the media.
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