2013 Icelandic parliamentary election

Last updated

2013 Icelandic parliamentary election
Flag of Iceland.svg
  2009 27 April 2013 2016  

All 63 seats in the Althing
32 seats needed for a majority
Turnout81.50%
PartyLeaderVote %Seats+/–
Independence Bjarni Benediktsson 26.7019+3
Progressive Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson 24.4319+10
Social Democratic Árni Páll Árnason 12.859−11
Left-Green Katrín Jakobsdóttir 10.877−7
Bright Future Guðmundur Steingrímsson 8.256New
Pirates Collective leadership5.103New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Althingiskosningar 2013.svg
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after election
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir 0000
Social Democratic
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Progressive

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 27 April 2013. [1] Fifteen parties contested the elections, compared to just seven in the previous elections. [2] [3] The result was a victory for the two centre-right opposition parties, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, [4] which subsequently formed a coalition government. The parties were eurosceptic and their win brought to a halt partially completed negotiations with the European Union regarding Icelandic membership. [4]

Contents

Background

The previous elections in 2009 were won by the Social Democratic Alliance – the first time that the Independence Party was not the largest party in the Althing. The Social Democratic Alliance was able to form a coalition with the Left-Green Movement. As a result of this, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became the first female prime minister of Iceland, as well as the first openly lesbian head of government in the world.

Incumbent parliament

Five parties were elected at the previous election, held in April 2009. Since then, the parliamentary representation for one of these, Citizens' Movement, first mostly moved to The Movement and then, in March 2012, to the new party Dawn. One of the MPs elected for the Citizens' movement, Þráinn Bertelsson, left the parliamentary party almost immediately and then a 16 months after the 2009 election he joined the Left-green movement. In January 2012, the new party Solidarity was founded by an incumbent MP, Lilja Mósesdóttir, who was elected as a member of the Left-Green Movement. Another new party, Bright Future, was formed in February 2012 with the involvement of two MPs from, respectively, the Progressive Party and Social Democratic Alliance. One MP originally elected for Citizens' Movement, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, also participated in the establishment of a new party in 2012, namely the Pirate Party. Two eurosceptic Left-Green Movement MPs, Jón Bjarnason and Atli Gíslason, also decided to defect and form the new Rainbow Movement in March 2013. The box below shows the distribution of seats in the incumbent parliament on 28 March 2013, the last working day of the parliament's term. [5]

Previous distribution of seats in parliament On 28 March 2013 [6]
Kula samfylkingarinnar.svg Social Democratic Alliance 19
Independence Party 16
Left-Green Movement 12
Framsoknarflokkurinn logo (without party name).svg Progressive Party 8
Bright Future logo.png Bright Future (G. Steingrímsson and R. Marshall) [7] [8] 2
Logo of Dogun (without text).png Dawn (Þór Saari and Margrét Tryggvadóttir)2
Rainbow (Atli Gíslason and Jón Bjarnason) [9] 2
Piratpartiet.svg Pirate Party (Birgitta Jónsdóttir)1
Samstada logo.png Solidarity (Lilja Mósesdóttir)1

Retiring MPs

The following MPs decided not to run for re-election: [10] [11] [12] [13]

Constituencies

There are six constituencies in Iceland. According to the Law on Parliamentary Elections (nr.24/2000), each constituency is allocated 9 seats decided by proportional voting, with 9 special leveling seats (either 1 or 2 per constituency, depending on population size) adjusting the result so that proportionality is maintained according to the overall number of votes received by a party at the national level. The number of constituency seats will, however, be adjusted ahead of the next election, if the number of residents with suffrage per available seat in the constituency increases to more than twice as many as in the last election, when comparing the constituency with the highest number against the one with the lowest. In that case a constituency seat will be reassigned from the constituency with the lowest number to the one with the highest, until the rule is met. However, the total number of seats (including leveling seats) may never fall to less than six in any constituency. [16] [17] The box below shows the number of seats available in each constituency at the 2013 parliamentary election. [18]

Electoral districts of Iceland.svg
Constituency Constituency seats Leveling seats Total seats
Reykjavik North 9211
Reykjavik South 9211
Southwest 11213
Northwest 718
Northeast 9110
South 9110
Total54963

Method for apportionment of constituency seats

The available constituency seats are first distributed to each party according to the D'Hondt method, so that proportional representation is ensured within each of the constituencies. The next step is to apportion these party distributed seats to the candidates within the party having the highest "vote score", after counting both direct candidate votes and their share of party votes in the constituency. In Iceland the "candidate vote system" is that, for each constituency, each party provides a pre-ranked list of candidates beneath each party name (listed according to the preferred order decided by the party), but where the voters voting for the party can alter this pre-ranked order by renumbering the individual candidates and/or crossing out those candidates they do not like, so that such candidates will not get a share of the voter's "personal vote" for the party. [16] [19]

As a restriction on the possibility of re-ranking candidates, it is however only possible to alter the first several candidates on the list. The borderline for alterations is drawn for the first three candidates if the party only win one of the total seats in the constituency, or if more than one seat is won the borderline shall be drawn at the pre-ranked number equal to two times the total number of seats being won by the party in the constituency. So if a party has won two seats in a constituency, then the voter is only allowed to re-rank the top four ranked candidates on the list, with any rank altering by voters below this line simply being ignored when subsequently calculating the candidate vote shares within each party. Final calculation of the candidate vote shares is always done according to the Borda method, where all candidates above the previously described borderline in the ranking are granted voting fraction values according to the voters noted rank. If the number of considered candidates consist of four (as in the given example), then the first ranked candidate is assigned a value of 1 (a so-called full personal vote), the next one get the value 0.75 (1/4 less), followed likewise by 0.50 and 0.25 respectively for the two last candidates. If the number of considered candidates instead had been six (due to winning 3 seats), then the first ranked candidate in a similar way would be assigned a value of 1 (a so-called full personal vote), with the following five candidates receiving respectively 5/6, 4/6, 3/6, 2/6 and 1/6. As mentioned above, crossed out names will always be allocated a 0.00 value. The accumulated total score of the candidates voting fractions, will be used in determining which candidates receive the seats won by their party. Note that candidate vote scores are not directly comparable to candidates from other parties, as how many seats are being won in a constituency by a particular party will effect how their candidates receive voting fractions (like in the above examples, where a candidate ranked number four for a party winning two seats would receive a voting fraction of 0.25, compared to 0.50 for an equally ranked candidate belonging to a party winning 3 seats) [16] [19]

Method for apportionment of leveling seats

After the initial apportionment of constituency seats, all the parties that exceed the election threshold of 5% nationally will also qualify to potentially be granted the extra leveling seats, which seek to adjust the result towards seat proportionality at the national level.

The calculation procedure for the distribution of leveling seats is, first, for each party having exceeded the national threshold of 5%, to calculate the ratio of its total number of votes at the national level divided by the sum of one extra seat added to the number of seats the party have so far won. The first leveling seat will go to the party with the highest ratio of votes per seat. The same calculation process is then repeated, until all 9 leveling seats have been allocated to specific parties. A party's "votes per seat" ratio will change during this calculation process, after each additional leveling seat being won. The second and final step is for each party being granted a leveling seat to pin point, across all constituencies, which of its runner-up candidates (candidates that came short of winning direct election through a constituency seat) should then win this additional seat. This selection is made by first identifying the constituency having the strongest "relative constituency vote shares for this additional seat of the party", which is decided by another proportional calculation, where the "relative vote share for the party list in each constituency", is divided with the sum of "one extra seat added to the number of already won constituency seats by the party list in the constituency". When this strongest constituency has been identified, the leveling seat will be automatically granted to the highest placed unelected runner-up candidate on the party list in this constituency, who among the remaining candidates have the highest personal vote score (the same figure as the one used when ranking candidates for constituency seats). [16] [19]

The above described method is used for apportionment of all the party allocated leveling seats. Note that when selecting which of a party's constituencies shall receive its apportioned leveling seat, this identification may only happen in exactly the same numerical order as the leveling seats were calculated at the party level. This is important because the number of available leveling seats are limited per constituency, meaning that the last calculated leveling seats in all circumstances can never be granted to candidates who belong to constituencies where the available leveling seats already were granted to other parties. [16] [19]

Participating parties

The final deadline for parties to apply for participation in the parliamentary election was 9 April 2013. To be approved for a list letter to participate in the election, new parties were required to submit a minimum of 300 signatures from supporters in each constituency where they intended to list. The participating parties also needed to submit a valid candidate list to the election committee in each of the constituencies where they intended to run, comprising twice as many candidate names as the number of available seats in the constituency, before 12 April. [20] On 16 April the National Election Committee (Icelandic : Landskjörstjórn) published its list of 15 approved parties with 72 candidate lists, as 11 parties had opted to run in all six constituencies, while 2 parties opted only to run in two constituencies, and the final 2 parties were only present in one constituency. [21] [22]

Parties with a list for all constituencies
Parties with a list for only some constituencies

Despite having a current member presence in the incumbent parliament, the party Solidarity (C list) decided not to run for election. [15] Likewise these recently established parties also decided not to participate: Optimism Party (E list), [42] [43] Christian Political Movement, [6] [44] [45] and Liberal Democrats. [6] [46]

While all applying party lists by the end of the day were getting approved, it was clear that all those who had applied for running the election as single independent candidates were disapproved. [47] According to the Icelandic constitution and election law, independent candidates are not allowed to run in parliamentary elections, unless they manage to join forces with other independent candidates to establish a full complete candidate list for a new group named "independent candidates" in the constituency they intend to run. [48] Last time Iceland had a list of "independent candidates" approved to participate was back in the 2003 elections, where "Independents from the South constituency (Óháðir í Suðurkjördæmi)" was approved as a local list in the South constituency. [49]

European Union accession negotiations

On 14 January 2013, the two governing parties of Iceland, the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement, announced that because it was no longer possible to complete EU accession negotiations before the parliamentary elections, they had decided to slow down the process and that the 6 remaining unopened chapters would not be opened until after the election. However, negotiations would continue for the 16 chapters already opened. [50] The new party Bright Future supports the completion of negotiations, [51] while two opposition parties, Independence Party and Progressive Party, argue that negotiations should be completely stopped. [52] [53] In February 2013, the national congress of both the Independence Party and Progressive Party reconfirmed their policy that further membership negotiations with the EU should be stopped and not resumed unless they are first approved by a national referendum, [54] [55] while the national congresses of the Social Democratic Alliance, Bright Future and Left-Green Movement reiterated their support for the completion of EU accession negotiations. [56]

On 19 March 2013, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, an Independence Party MP, put forward a motion in the Althing calling for a referendum asking the Icelandic public whether EU accession negotiations should continue. She proposed that the referendum be held during the upcoming parliamentary election in April if possible, or else during local elections in the spring of 2014. [57] In response to Þorgerður and other proponents of EU integration within the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the party, reiterated the party's policy of stopping negotiations with the EU, but promised to hold a referendum on continuing the negotiations in the first half of their term if they form government. [58] [59] [60]

Campaign

The list below gives a short summary of significant events in the electoral campaign of each participating party.

Opinion polls

Graph of polls from January 2012. Stars stand for national surveys, when many surveys were taken within a four-day period, the average is taken and the line follows the average. Kannanirx2013.svg
Graph of polls from January 2012. Stars stand for national surveys, when many surveys were taken within a four-day period, the average is taken and the line follows the average.
  Independence
  Progressive
  Bright Future
  Social Democratic
  Left-Green
  Right-Green
  Dawn
  Pirate Party
  Solidarity
  The Movement
  Other
InstituteRelease date C V S T L Þ A B D G Others
2009 result 29 Apr 2009n/a21.7%29.8%n/an/an/an/a14.8%23.7%n/a2.8%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Jan 201213.7%21.8%3.4%15.4%36.1%9.5%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 [ permanent dead link ]9 Feb 201221.3%8.0%12.3%1.7%6.1%12.5%35.0%0.9%1.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Feb 201211.3%12.0%18.7%2.7%4.3%13.0%33.3%4.7%
MMR 18 Mar 20129.1%11.3%18.3%2.6%4.3%13.2%37.3%3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Mar 20128.9%11.2%17.5%1.9%4.7%13.0%38.2%4.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 [ permanent dead link ]12 Apr 20126.0%8.6%14.8%2.1%7.2%14.6%42.6%2.3%0.9%
MMR 17 Apr 20124.5%13.2%14.6%2.1%8.1%14.5%39.0%3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 26 Apr 20126.9%11.5%18.7%5.4%5.6%12.5%37.0%2.4%
MMR 15 May 20123.1%14.1%17.7%2.6%7.6%12.8%38.5%3.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 [ permanent dead link ]24 May 20125.1%9.2%13.6%2.7%5.3%15.8%43.7%3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 May 20125.6%10.4%17.7%5.4%4.0%12.9%39.3%4.6%
MMR 19 Jun 20124.4%13.3%16.4%3.1%4.6%17.5%36.4%4.3%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Jun 20124.7%11.9%18.8%4.3%4.3%12.7%38.2%3.6%1.6%
MMR 16 Jul 20122.5%11.4%16.9%3.9%4.1%17.0%38.5%5.7%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Jul 20122.7%12.2%21.0%4.1%5.2%12.4%36.9%3.1%2.5%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Aug 20123.0%13.3%20.7%3.7%4.5%13.8%36.0%3.0%2.0%
MMR 6 Sep 20121.7%12.9%19.3%1.4%5.9%13.3%40.6%4.8%
MMR 20 Sep 20121.0%15.8%17.7%2.6%6.8%17.0%34.9%4.1%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 27 Sep 20122.4%12.4%19.4%3.6%4.9%14.2%37.1%4.4%1.7%
MMR 12 Oct 20123.1%13.9%21.2%2.1%8.8%11.2%35.3%2.1%1.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Oct 20121.9%11.7%22.1%3.8%6.9%12.1%36.2%3.8%1.7%
MMR 13 Nov 20122.3%11.3%18.6%2.4%10.8%12.0%37.7%3.1%1.8%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Nov 20121.7%10.6%22.5%3.8%8.1%12.7%35.9%3.3%1.7%
MMR 11 Dec 20121.9%11.2%17.4%3.1%11.5%13.6%37.4%2.0%2.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Dec 20121.3%9.1%19.1%3.0%2.5%12.3%13.1%36.3%2.6%0.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 17 Jan 20130.6%7.3%19.2%1.9%1.0%14.4%11.9%40.7%1.9%1.0%
Plúsinn [70] 20 Jan 20131.0%5.0%19.9%2.0%1.0%14.1%12.5%40.6%3.0%0.1%
MMR 20 Jan 20121.4%8.6%17.3%2.2%17.6%14.8%34.5%2.0%1.5%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Jan 20131.0%7.9%15.6%2.1%2.1%18.6%14.2%35.5%2.5%0.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 31 Jan 201311.4%11.9%1.5%0.9%16.4%20.8%32.0%4.3%0.2%
Plúsinn [71] 3 Feb 20133.0%5.7%14.4%2.0%2.0%14.0%18.4%32.7%6.0%1.0%
MMR 6 Feb 20130.7%8.6%16.2%0.9%17.8%19.5%33.0%1.8%1.4%
MMR 26 Feb 20139.5%12.8%2.2%2.4%15.3%23.8%28.5%2.5%3.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Feb 20137.4%15.4%1.3%2.3%16.2%22.1%29.7%3.2%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 1 Mar 201311.8%12.8%2.0%2.6%1.5%8.7%26.1%29.0%2.6%2.3%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ [72] 4 Mar 20139.9%16.1%0.9%3.7%1.8%12.0%22.4%29.4%2.3%1.4%
MMR 14 Mar 20139.6%12.4%1.9%3.6%15.2%25.9%27.2%2.1%2.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 15 Mar 20138.9%14.0%0.7%3.3%3.8%13.2%25.5%26.8%2.8%1.0%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 16 Mar 20137.1%13.8%1.6%1.4%1.8%9.1%31.9%27.6%2.4%2.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ [72] 26 Mar 20138.0%12.8%1.4%2.6%3.3%11.4%28.5%26.1%2.1%3.0%
MMR 27 Mar 20138.7%12.5%1.7%1.7%3.9%12.0%29.5%24.4%2.5%3.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 1 Apr 20138.5%15.0%1.5%3.1%4.4%12.7%28.3%22.4%2.1%2.0%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 4 Apr 20135.6%9.5%0.6%2.8%5.6%8.3%40.0%17.8%3.5%5.0%
MMR 8 Apr 20138.1%12.7%1.9%3.6%7.8%9.2%30.2%21.2%2.2%3.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 10 Apr 20138.8%12.6%1.4%3.0%5.6%10.9%30.9%18.9%2.7%5.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 11 Apr 20137.3%12.2%2.5%3.8%6.8%10.1%29.4%21.9%6.0%
MMR 15 Apr 20136.7%10.4%3.6%3.0%9.0%9.5%32.7%22.9%1.0%1.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 17 Apr 20137.9%13.7%3.0%1.7%5.6%6.5%30.3%26.9%0.8%3.6%
MMR 18 Apr 20138.1%13.5%3.6%2.2%6.7%8.3%25.6%27.5%1.7%2.6%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 18 Apr 20138.8%15.2%3.0%2.6%8.4%8.0%26.7%24.1%1.2%2.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 19 Apr 20139.3%12.2%3.0%3.3%6.3%7.4%28.1%24.4%1.6%4.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 24 Apr 201310.4%13.3%2.4%2.6%6.3%8.1%25.9%23.8%2.5%4.7%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 25 Apr 201310.8%13.6%3.2%2.6%6.4%7.3%24.4%24.8%2.8%4.1%
MMR 25 Apr 201311.6%13.0%2.9%3.5%7.5%7.7%22.4%26.7%1.3%3.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 26 Apr 201310.9%14.7%3.0%2.0%6.3%7.6%25.4%22.9%2.4%4.8%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 26 Apr 201310.0%14.6%2.6%2.8%6.1%6.6%24.7%27.9%2.6%2.1%
Notes:

Results

The centre-right Independence party was one of the election's winners with 26.7% of the votes, regaining their position as Iceland's largest party. Two new parties entered the Althing for the first time. The green liberal Bright Future got 8.3% of the votes and The Pirate Party got 5.1% of the votes, just above the 5% threshold for leveling mandates. [4]

Voter turnout was the lowest in any general election since Iceland's independence from Denmark. [73] By 20 April, 582 people had voted using early voting. [74] This represented an increase of approximately 1,400 votes over the number of early votes cast in the 2009 election. [74] By 26 April, 24,850 people had voted. [75] Prior to the elections, it was not clear whether this meant that turnout would be increased or just that early voting had become more popular. [74] [75]

Icelandic Althing Composition 2013.svg
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Independence Party 50,45526.70+3.0019+3
Progressive Party 46,17324.43+9.6319+10
Social Democratic Alliance 24,29412.85–16.949–11
Left-Green Movement 20,54610.87–10.817–7
Bright Future 15,5848.25New6New
Pirate Party 9,6485.10New3New
Dawn 5,8553.10New0New
Households Party 5,7073.02New0New
Iceland Democratic Party 4,6582.46New0New
Right-Green People's Party 3,2621.73New0New
Rainbow 2,0211.07New0New
Rural Party 3260.17New0New
Sturla Jónsson 2220.12New0New
Humanist Party 1260.07New0New
People's Front of Iceland 1180.06New0New
Total188,995100.00630
Valid votes188,99597.51
Invalid/blank votes4,8272.49
Total votes193,822100.00
Registered voters/turnout237,80781.50
Source: Landskjörstjórn Election Resources

Elected MPs

Members of the Althing elected on 27 April 2013
Reykjavik North Reykjavik South Southwest Northwest Northeast South

1. Illugi Gunnarsson (D)
2. Frosti Sigurjónsson (B)
3. Katrín Jakobsdóttir (V)
4. Össur Skarphéðinsson (S)
5. Brynjar Þór Níelsson (D)
6. Björt Ólafsdóttir (A)
7. Sigrún Magnúsdóttir (B)
8. Árni Þór Sigurðsson (V)
9. Birgir Ármannsson (D)


L1. Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson (Þ)
L7. Valgerður Bjarnadóttir (S)

1. Hanna B. Kristjánsdóttir (D)
2. Vigdís Hauksdóttir (B)
3. Sigríður I. Ingadóttir (S)
4. Pétur H. Blöndal (D)
5. Svandís Svavarsdóttir (V)
6. Róbert Marshall (A)
7. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson (D)
8. Karl Garðarsson (B)
9. Helgi Hjörvar (S)


L2. Ásta Guðrún Helgadóttir (Þ)
L5. Óttarr Proppé (A)

1. Bjarni Benediktsson (D)
2. Eygló Harðardóttir (B)
3. Ragnheiður Ríkharðsdóttir (D)
4. Árni Páll Árnason (S)
5. Willum Þór Þórsson (B)
6. Jón Gunnarsson (D)
7. Guðmundur Steingrímsson (A)
8. Ögmundur Jónasson (V)
9. Vilhjálmur Bjarnason (D)
10.Þorsteinn Sæmundsson (B)
11.Katrín Júlíusdóttir (S)


L4. Birgitta Jónsdóttir (Þ)
L8. Elín Hirst (D)

1. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson (B)
2. Einar K. Guðfinnsson (D)
3. Ásmundur Einar Daðason (B)
4. Haraldur Benediktsson (D)
5. Guðbjartur Hannesson (S)
6. Elsa Lára Arnardóttir (B)
7. Jóhanna M. Sigmundsdóttir (B)


L6. Lilja R. Magnúsdóttir (V)

1. Sigmundur D. Gunnlaugsson (B)
2. Kristján Þór Júlíusson (D)
3. Höskuldur Þór Þórhallsson (B)
4. Steingrímur J. Sigfússon (V)
5. Líneik Anna Sævarsdóttir (B)
6. Valgerður Gunnarsdóttir (D)
7. Kristján L. Möller (S)
8. Þórunn Egilsdóttir (B)
9. Bjarkey Gunnarsdóttir (V)


L3. Brynhildur Pétursdóttir (A)

1. Sigurður I. Jóhannsson (B)
2. Ragnheiður E. Árnadóttir (D)
3. Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir (B)
4. Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir (D)
5. Páll Jóhann Pálsson (B)
6. Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S)
7. Ásmundur Friðriksson (D)
8. Haraldur Einarsson (B)
9. Vilhjálmur Árnason (D)


L9. Páll Valur Björnsson (A)

Key: D = Independence Party; B = Progressive Party; S = Social Democratic Alliance; V = Left-Green Movement; A = Bright Future; Þ = Pirate Party; L1-L9 = Leveling seats nr.1-9.
Source: Morgunblaðið [76] and Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission) [77]

For the parties having qualified with a national result above the 5% election threshold, the 9 leveling seats (L1-L9) were first distributed party-wise according to the calculation method in this particular order (where the party's total number of national votes was divided by the sum of "won seats plus 1" - with an extra leveling seat granted to the party with the highest fraction - while repeating this process until all 9 leveling seats had been determined). At the next step, these leveling seats were then by the same order distributed one by one to the relative strongest constituency of the seat winning party (while disregarding the constituencies that already ran out of vacant leveling seats). At the third step, the specific leveling seat is finally granted to the party's highest ranked runner-up candidate within the constituency, according to the same accumulated candidate vote score as being used when apportioning the constituency seats. [78]

The table below display how the leveling seats were apportioned, and the "relative constituency strength" figures for each party, which is measured for each constituency as the "party vote share" divided by "won constituency seats of the party +1". To illustrate how the selection method works, each party in a constituency being apportioned a leveling seat, have got their figure for relative strength (vote share per seat) bolded in the table, with a parenthesis noting the number of the leveling seat. Because constituencies run out of available leveling seats one by one as the calculation progress, it can sometimes happen that the constituency with the highest relative strength needs to be disregarded. In example, if there had been no restrictions to the available number of leveling seats in a constituency, then the table below would have distributed the Independence Party's L8-seat to its relative strongest Northwest Constituency with an 8.22% vote share per seat; But as the one and only leveling seat of this constituency had already been granted to the Left-Green party (who won the L6-seat), then the L8-seat instead had to be granted to a relatively weaker constituency, which to be more exact ended only being the fourth strongest constituency for the Independence Party - namely the Southwest constituency with a 6.14% vote share per seat. [78]

Candidates selected for the 9 leveling seats
(L1-L9 are first apportioned at national level to parties,
then to the relative strongest constituency of the party,
and finally given to its highest ranked runner-up candidate)
Leveling seats
won by party
Reykjavik North
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
Reykjavik South
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
Southwest
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
Northwest
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
Northeast
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
South
(party vote share divided
by won local seats +1)
Independence Party (D)L85.84%
4.67% [a]
6.70%
5.36% [a]
6.14% (L8)
5.12% [a]
8.22%7.52%5.65%
Progressive Party (B)5.48%
4.11% [a]
5.60%
4.20% [a]
5.38%
4.31% [a]
7.03%6.92%6.89%
Social Democratic Alliance (S)L77.13% (L7)
4.75% [a]
4.73%
3.55% [a]
4.55%
3.41% [a]
6.11%5.30%5.09%
Left-Green Movement (V)L65.22%
3.92% [a]
6.06%
4.04% [a]
3.93%
2.62% [a]
8.47% (L6)5.27%5.88%
Bright Future (A)L3+L5+L95.10%
3.40% [a]
5.37% (L5)
3.58% [a]
4.61%
3.07% [a]
4.56%6.51% (L3)4.47% (L9)
Pirate Party (Þ)L1+L2+L46.87% (L1)
3.43% [a]
6.17% (L2)
3.09% [a]
5.00% (L4)
2.50% [a]
3.09%3.03%4.72%
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Party vote share divided by "won constituency seats +2", has also been calculated for constituencies with two leveling seats (as each party in theory has a chance to win both of them).

Aftermath

Following the elections, a coalition government was formed between the Progressive Party and Independence Party with Progressive Party's Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson as prime minister. [79] The Progressive Party received four ministries, and the Independence Party received five. [79]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Iceland</span>

The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament, the Althingi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Democratic Alliance</span> Political party in Iceland

The Social Democratic Alliance is a social democratic political party in Iceland. The party is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectrum and their leader is Kristrún Frostadóttir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Party (Iceland)</span> Political party in Iceland

The Progressive Party is an agrarian political party in Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Left-Green Movement</span> Political party in Iceland

The Left-Green Movement, also known by its short-form name Vinstri græn (VG), is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iceland–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iceland is heavily integrated into the European Union via the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement, despite its status as a non-EU member state. Iceland applied for membership in 2009. The Minister for Foreign Affairs sent a letter in 2015 that ended the application process.

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 12 May 2007. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Althing, winning 25 of the 63 seats. Following the elections, a coalition government was formed by the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance, with Geir Haarde continuing as Prime Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir</span> Prime Minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013.

Sturla Jónsson, formerly known as the Progress Party, was an Icelandic political party. The party was known as the Progress Party from its founding on 17 December 2008 to 5 April 2013 when it was renamed after its founder.

Snap parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 April 2009, following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis. The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and formed an overall majority of seats in the Althing. The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katrín Jakobsdóttir</span> Prime Minister of Iceland from 2017 to 2024

Katrín Jakobsdóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the prime minister of Iceland from December 2017 to April 2024 and was a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency from 2007 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1970)</span> Prime Minister of Iceland (2017; 2024–present)

Bjarni Benediktsson, known colloquially as Bjarni Ben, is an Icelandic politician, who has served as the prime minister of Iceland since April 2024, and previously from January to November 2017. He has been the leader of the Icelandic Independence Party since 2009, and served as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017, a post he later retained under Katrín Jakobsdóttir and held until his resignation in October 2023. After serving briefly as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2023 to 2024, Bjarni became prime minister again on 9 April 2024.

Bjarni Harðarson is a bookseller, novelist, and former MP from the Icelandic Progressive Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest (Althing constituency)</span> Constituency of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland

Southwest is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established as Reykjanes in 1959 following the nationwide extension of proportional representation for elections to the Althing. It was renamed Southwest in 2003 when the Reykjanes area of constituency was merged into the Southern constituency following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland. Southwest is conterminous with the Capital region but excludes Reykjavík Municipality which has its own constituencies. The constituency currently elects 11 of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 73,699 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Front of Iceland</span> Icelandic political party

People's Front of Iceland is an anti-capitalist political party in Iceland founded on 18 February 2013, seeking to "... free the people from the yoke of market capitalism". It is "unconditionally opposed" to Iceland's accession to both the European Union and NATO, believing them to be "imperialist" organisations. The party founder, Þorvaldur Þorvaldsson, is a self-declared communist.

Rainbow is a Eurosceptic and socialist political party in Iceland, founded in March 2013 by former MP Bjarni Harðarson, who had been elected for the Progressive Party, and current MPs Jón Bjarnason and Atli Gíslason, both dissidents from the Left-Green Movement (VG). The party was founded in order to contest the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election.

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 29 October 2016. They were due to be held on or before 27 April 2017, but following the 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests, the ruling coalition announced that early elections would be held "in autumn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Icelandic parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 28 October 2017. On 15 September 2017, the three-party coalition government collapsed after the departure of Bright Future over a scandal involving Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson's father writing a letter recommending a convicted child sex offender have his "honour restored". Bjarni subsequently called for a snap election, which was officially scheduled for 28 October 2017 following the dissolution of the Althing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Icelandic parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 September 2021 to elect the members of the Althing. Following the elections, the three parties in the ruling coalition government – the Independence Party, Progressive Party and Left-Green Movement – agreed to continue in office, with Katrín Jakobsdóttir of the Left-Green Movement remaining Prime Minister despite her party being the smallest of the three. It was the first time an incumbent government had retained power in an election since the 2008 financial crisis.

Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Iceland on 30 November 2024 to elect the 63 members of the Althing.

References

  1. "Iceland Won't Finish EU Talks Before Next Parliament Election". Businessweek . 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  2. "Stamps use up almost half the alphabet". RÚV (in Icelandic). 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  3. "Fifteen parties in election". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election Archived 8 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC, 28 April 2013
  5. "Statistics on the 141 session which was suspended on 28 March to the end of the electoral term 27 April" (in Icelandic). Althingi. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "General elections 2013 – News" (in Icelandic). Althingi. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2012.[ self-published source ]
  7. "Úrsögnin kom félögum á óvart" [Withdrawal came as a surprise] (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. "Róbert Marshall first and Ottarr Proppé second" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  9. "VG betrayed policy" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  10. "Þuríður Backman not seeking re-election" (in Icelandic). RUV. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  11. "Birkir Jón hættir á þingi" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 22 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  12. "Reyndar konur hætta á þingi" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 28 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  13. "Seven Women to Leave Icelandic Parliament". Iceland review online. 6 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  14. "Twelve MPs quit parliament today". Ruv.is. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Solidarity is not broken" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Apportionment of Seats to Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament: Analysis of the Elections 2003 + 2007 + 2009" (PDF). The National Electoral Commission of Iceland. April 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  17. "Law on Parliamentary Elections (nr.24/2000)" (in Icelandic). Althingi. 19 May 2000. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  18. "Announcements: The division of seats among constituencies in the general election 2013" (in Icelandic). Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission). 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "The calculation of the allocation of parliamentary seats according to results of elections to Parliament 25th April 2009" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission). 8 January 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  20. "Availability: Instructions for availability" (in Icelandic). Kosningavefur Innanríkisráðuneytið. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  21. "Announcements: Notice of lists that will participate in the parliamentary election on 27 April 2013" (in Icelandic). Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission). 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Announcement by the National Electoral Commission about available political parties in the parliamentary elections 27 April 2013" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission). 16 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  23. "Pirates get list letter Þ" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  24. "Pirate Party hold an establishment meeting" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 24 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  25. 1 2 3 "Five new list letters" (in Icelandic). Innanríkisráðuneytið (Ministry of Interior). 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  26. "Constitutional Council men establish the new party Democracy Watch" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  27. "Democracy Watch formally established" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  28. "Create a party to work with Progressive Party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 10 March 2013. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  29. "Households Party founded" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  30. "Eight organizations stand behind the Households Party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 1 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  31. "Atla Gíslason and Bjarni Harðarson prepare to run the election with a new party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 10 March 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  32. "Blog of Bjarni Harðarson". Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  33. "Thorstein Bergsson leading the Rainbow candidate list in Northeast" (in Icelandic). Smugan. 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  34. "Bjarni Harðarson leads the list in the South constituency" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  35. "People's Front participates in the election throughout the country" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  36. "Capitalist class shall not be allowed to exploit people" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  37. "Humanist Party seeks collaboration partners" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  38. "Will establish a Provincial Party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  39. "Provincial Party founded today" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 23 February 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  40. "Election campaign center in old workshop" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  41. "The party is called Sturla Jonsson" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  42. "Uncertainty about participation of Optimism Party in the election" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  43. "One new list character granted" (in Icelandic). Ministry of Interior. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  44. "The Christian's Political Party has been founded" (in Icelandic). Christian Political Movement (blog). 9 March 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  45. "Snorri in Bethel joined the Christian Political Movement planning to run in the elections". DV (in Icelandic). 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  46. "Lýður Árnason leads list of Democracy Watch in Southwest constituency" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  47. "The National Election Commission approved candidates" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  48. "Plans for 72 candidate lists in elections" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. 14 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  49. "Independent list in South" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 2 April 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  50. "BREAKING NEWS: Iceland to Slow Down EU Talks". Iceland Review. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  51. "Ready to proceed" (in Icelandic). MBL.is. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  52. "Proposal for: Withdrawal of Iceland's application for EU membership (issue 96, document 96, session 141)" (in Icelandic). 14 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  53. Viðræðurnar við ESB verði settar á ís Archived 26 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine MBL.is
  54. "Icelandic interests best served outside EU" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  55. "Better off outside EU" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 23 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  56. "EU Resolutions at main parties national congresses point each in different directions" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  57. "Þorgerður Katrín vill þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu um ESB-aðildarviðræður samhliða þingkosningum 27". 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  58. "Bjarni opnar á Evrópumálin: Skattaleiðin hefur hvergi nokkurstaðar, aldrei nokkurn tímann verið leiðin útúr kreppu". 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  59. "Útilokar ekki tillögu Þorgerðar". 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  60. "Þetta síðasta flipp-flopp breytir engu um að landsfundur flokksins lokaði öllum dyrum til Evrópu". 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  61. "Bjarni will make decision in 1–2 days" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  62. 1 2 3 Bjarni Benediktsson Might Step Down Archived 16 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine , The Reykjavík Grapevine, 12 April 2013
  63. Newest Political Polls Showing Some Ups And Downs Archived 7 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine , The Reykjavík Grapevine, 9 April 2013
  64. "Bjarni will remain chairman" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 13 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  65. "The oldest candidate at 103 years?" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 9 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  66. 1 2 3 4 "Dawn reject cooperation with Iceland Democratic Party" (in Icelandic). DV. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.[ dead link ]
  67. Right-Green Chairman Doesn't Pay Taxes in Iceland Archived 8 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine , The Reykjavík Grapevine, 5 April 2013
  68. Right-Green Chairman Not Eligible To Run Archived 7 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine , The Reykjavík Grapevine, 4 April 2013
  69. 1 2 "Thorstein Bergsson leaves VG" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  70. Útvarpsþátturinn Sprengisandur á Bylgjunni 20. janúar 2013.
  71. Útvarpsþátturinn Sprengisandur á Bylgjunni 3. febrúar 2013.
  72. 1 2 "Fylgið á mikilli hreyfingu á milli flokkanna". Morgunblaðið, bls. 20–21, 28. mars 2013. Árvakur hf.
  73. Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson: Iceland set for coalition talks after government ousted Archived 27 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Reuters, 28 April 2013
  74. 1 2 3 "Nearly 10,000 have voted" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  75. 1 2 "Voting this morning" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  76. Kosningar, mbl.is, 28 April 2013, archived from the original on 19 January 2021, retrieved 28 April 2013. (in Icelandic)
  77. "The calculation of the allocation of parliamentary seats according to results of elections to Parliament 27th April 2013" (PDF). Landskjörstjórn (The National Electoral Commission). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.(in Icelandic)
  78. 1 2 The distribution of compensatory seats, mbl.is, 28 April 2013, archived from the original on 30 April 2013, retrieved 28 April 2013. (in Icelandic)
  79. 1 2 "New Government Divvies Up The Ministries". The Reykjavík Grapevine. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.