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Iceland is divided into six constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives to parliament. [1]
The current division was established by a 1999 constitution amendment and was an attempt to balance the weight of different districts of the country whereby voters in the rural districts have greater representation per head than voters in Reykjavík city and its suburbs. [1] The new division comprises three countryside constituencies (NW, NE and S) and three city constituencies (RN, RS and SW). [2] The imbalance of votes between city and country still exists and a provision in the election law states that if the number of votes per seat in parliament in one constituency goes below half of what it is in any other constituency, one seat shall be transferred between them. [1] This has occurred three times, in the elections in 2007, 2013 and 2024. On each occasion, a seat was transferred from the Northwest constituency to the Southwest constituency. [3]
The constituencies are the following: [2]
Data for the table below is current as of the 2017 election:
| Constituency | Electors | Seats | Electors per seat | % [a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavík North (Icelandic : Reykjavíkurkjördæmi norður) | 46,073 | 11 | 4,188 | 78.3% |
| Reykjavík South (Icelandic : Reykjavíkurkjördæmi suður) | 45,584 | 11 | 4,144 | 77.5% |
| Southwest (Icelandic : Suðvesturkjördæmi) | 69,544 | 14 | 5,350 | 100.0% |
| Northwest (Icelandic : Norðvesturkjördæmi) | 21,521 | 7 | 2,690 | 50.3% |
| Northeast (Icelandic : Norðausturkjördæmi) | 29,620 | 10 | 2,836 | 55.4% |
| South (Icelandic : Suðurkjördæmi) | 36,143 | 10 | 3,251 | 67.6% |
| Source: Statistics Iceland | ||||
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The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature.
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An electoraldistrict, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a subdivision of a larger state created to provide its population with representation in the larger state's legislature. That body, or the state's constitution or a body established for that purpose, determines each district's boundaries and whether each will be represented by a single member or multiple members. Generally, only voters (constituents) who reside within the district are permitted to vote in an election held there. District representatives may be elected by a first-past-the-post system, a proportional representative system, or another voting method. They may be selected by a direct election under universal suffrage, an indirect election, or another form of suffrage.
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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.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 10 May 2003. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Althing, winning 22 of the 63 seats. The coalition government of the Independence Party and Progressive Party remained in office, with Davíð Oddsson continuing as prime minister.
Electoral districts go by different names depending on the country and the office being elected.
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. This was the first time the Independence Party had lost the plurality of the vote since 1937
Reykjavík North is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 when the existing Reykjavík constituency was split into two. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 45,361 registered electors.
Reykjavík South is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 when the existing Reykjavík constituency was split into two. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 45,716 registered electors.
Northeast is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northeastern constituency was merged with the Eastern constituency and Siglufjörður municipality from the Northwestern constituency. Northeast consists of the regions of Eastern and Northeastern. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 29,847 registered electors.
Northwest is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northwestern constituency was merged with the Western and Westfjords constituencies. Northwest consists of the regions of Northwestern, Western and Westfjords. The constituency currently elects six of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 21,541 registered electors.
South is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Southern constituency was merged with municipalities of Gerðahreppur, Grindavík, Reykjanesbær, Sandgerði and Vatnsleysustrandarhreppur from the Reykjanes constituency and the municipality of Sveitarfélagið Hornafjörður from the Eastern constituency. South consists of the Southern and Southern Peninsula regions. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2021 parliamentary election it had 38,424 registered electors.
Southwest is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Reykjanes constituency was split between the new South and Southwest constituencies. Southwest is conterminous with the Capital region but excludes Reykjavík Municipality which has its own constituencies, Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South. The constituency currently elects 12 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.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 27 April 2013. Fifteen parties contested the elections, compared to just seven in the previous elections. The result was a victory for the two centre-right opposition parties, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, 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.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 30 November 2024 to elect the 63 members of the Althing. The centre-left Social Democratic Alliance, led by Kristrún Frostadóttir, outperformed the ruling Independence Party to win the most seats, at 15. The election saw the worst performance by the Independence Party, Progressive Party, the Left-Green Movement, and the Pirate Party in each of the parties' histories, while Social Democratic Alliance, Viðreisn, the People's Party, and the Centre Party saw their best performance in each of the parties' histories. This follows a trend of Icelanders voting against every post 2008 recession government except for 2021.
Media related to Constituencies of Iceland at Wikimedia Commons
