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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Iceland |
| Constitution |
Institutions |
The Icelandic municipal elections of 2010 were held on 29 May in that year to elect the municipal councils of Iceland.
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality such as a city council or a town council.
A new political party called The Best Party (Besti flokkurinn) won the most seats on the council, defeating the established parties.
The Best Party led in the polls in the run up to the election with one survey showing they could win a majority on their own. [1] [2] Among the policies in the party's "best manifesto" were plans for a polar bear for the city's zoo, a Disneyland at Reykjavík Airport, palm trees on the waterfront and free towels at swimming pools. [2] [3] However the leader of the Best Party, comedian Jón Gnarr, said that his party, which had only been founded in November 2009, [2] was serious and his campaign manager said they wanted "to take a stand against a system that is completely ruined". [3]
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.
The polar bear is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear. A boar weighs around 350–700 kg (772–1,543 lb), while a sow is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their scientific name means "maritime bear" and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. Because of their dependence on the sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals.
Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built to completion under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property; its official name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s.
Political analysts saw the strong support for the Best Party being due to the economic crisis that had taken place since 2008, which had led voters to lose confidence in the traditional political parties. [1] Meanwhile, other politicians called on voters to get serious and avoid putting the city in the "hands of clowns" during a time of economic difficulty. [4] As the election neared a poll showed the Best Party dropped slightly while remaining ahead, with the Independence Party rising, making it unlikely that the Best Party would win a majority. [5]
The Independence Party is a liberal-conservative, Eurosceptic political party in Iceland. It is currently the largest party in the Althing, with 16 seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson. The secretary of the party is Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir.
The results saw the Best Party become the largest party on the council with 6 of the 15 seats, but short of a majority. [6] They defeated the Independence Party of incumbent mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir into second place with 33.6% of the vote, compared to 34.7% for the Best Party. [6] The results were described as "a shock" by the Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, with the leader of the Best Party, Jón Gnarr saying he should now become mayor of Reykjavík. [7]
The incumbent is the current holder of an office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the Hungarian presidential election, 2017, János Áder was the incumbent, because he had been the president in the term before the term for which the election sought to determine the president. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.
Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir is a former Icelandic minister, mayor and parliamentarian. She is currently the Chair of the Executive Board of Women Political Leaders, Global Forum.
The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support.
Gnarr has since formed a coalition with the Social Democrats and was mayor until June 16, 2014.
Summary of the 29 May 2010 Reykjavík City Council election results
The City Council is the governing body of the City of Reykjavík, composed of representatives elected by the inhabitants of the city. The council Municipality is responsible for enforcing the issues which that the State has delegated to local authorities.
| Parties | Votes | % | +/−% | Seats | +/− | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Party (Besti flokkurinn) | 20,666 | 34.7 | New | 6 | New | ||
| Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) | 20,006 | 33.6 | –9.3 | 5 | –2 | ||
| Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) | 11,344 | 19.1 | –8.3 | 3 | –1 | ||
| Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð) | 4,255 | 7.1 | –6.4 | 1 | –1 | ||
| Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) | 1,629 | 2.7 | –3.6 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Totals | 56,897 | 100.0 | — | 15 | — | ||
| Source: IceNews [8] | |||||||
Einar Örn Benediktsson, often billed as Einar Örn, is an Icelandic popular music singer, trumpet player, artist and politician best known as a former member of the Sugarcubes and a current member of Ghostigital. Between 2010 and 2014, he served as a member of the Reykjavík City Council.
Davíð Oddsson is an Icelandic politician, and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, in office from 1991 to 2004. From 2004 to 2005 he served as Foreign Minister. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of Iceland from 2005 to 2009. The collapse of Iceland's banking system led to vocal demands for his resignation, both from members of the Icelandic public and from the new Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, which resulted in his being replaced as head of the Central Bank in March 2009. In September 2009 he was hired as the editor of Morgunblaðið, one of Iceland's largest newspapers, a decision that caused nationwide controversy and was followed by resignations and widespread terminated subscriptions. He contested the election for President of Iceland on 25 June 2016 but lost to Guðni Jóhannesson.
The Social Democratic Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Iceland. It was founded in 2000 at the convergence of four centre left political parties following a joint run by all parties in the 1999 parliamentary election. The vision of the party was to unite the left wing of Icelandic politics, fractured since the 1930 split of the Social Democratic Party and present a united bloc to oppose the ruling Independence Party.
The Progressive Party is a centre-right, populist and agrarian political party in Iceland. For most of its history, the Progressive Party has governed with the centre-right liberal conservative Independence Party.
The Left-Green Movement is a eco-socialist political party in Iceland. It is the second largest party in the Althingi, with 11 members of 63 in total, and is currently the leading party in a three-party coalition government formed after the 2017 elections. The party chair is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, MP and the 28th Prime Minister of Iceland since 30 November 2017. The vice chair is Edward H. Hujibens. The secretary-general of the party is Björg Eva Erlendsdóttir. The Left-Green Movement is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance.
Regular elections in Croatia are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament. The presidency, Parliament, county prefects and assemblies, city and town mayors, and city and municipal councils are all elective offices. Since 1990, five presidential elections have been held. During the same period, nine parliamentary elections were also held. In addition, there were six nationwide local elections. Croatia has held two elections to elect 11 members of the European Parliament following its accession to the EU on 1 July 2013.
Jón Gnarr is an Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014.
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.
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.
Dagur Bergþóruson Eggertsson M.D. is an Icelandic politician who is the Mayor of Reykjavik City. He was the vice-chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance from 2009 until 2013. He was first elected to the city council of Reykjavík in a 2002 election and became the mayor on 16 October 2007. Dagur is formally educated as a physician but also has a master's degree in Human Rights and International Law from the University of Lund in Sweden.
The Best Party was an Icelandic political party founded by Jón Gnarr on 16 November 2009. The party ran in the 2010 city council election in Reykjavík and won a plurality on the Reykjavík City Council, receiving 34.7% of the vote, defeating the Independence Party which received 33.6%. It was a member of the International Pirate Party, but not associated with Pirate Party Iceland. Jón Gnarr announced that the party was to be dissolved after he stepped down as mayor after the upcoming local elections in May 2014. Many of the Best Party's members have joined Bright Future, although Jón himself stopped political participation.
Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties in different countries. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy (e-democracy) and participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free sharing of knowledge, information privacy, transparency, freedom of information, free speech, anti-corruption and net neutrality.
Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 30 June 2012. The result was a victory for the incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who defeated his nearest rival Thóra Arnórsdóttir by nearly 20% of the vote, and went on to serve a record fifth term as president of Iceland.
An Icelandicparliamentary election was held on 27 April 2013. Fifteen parties contested the election in Iceland, compared to just seven in the previous election. The election was won by the two centre-right opposition parties, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, who subsequently formed a coalition government. The parties are eurosceptic, and their win brought to a halt partially completed negotiations with the European Union regarding Icelandic membership.
Gnarr is a 2010 Icelandic documentary film directed by Gaukur Úlfarsson. The film follows the political campaign of Jón Gnarr, a former punk rocker with no background in politics that formed his own party – the Best Party – and became the mayor of Reykjavík.
The Pirate Party is a political party in Iceland. The party's platform is based on pirate politics and direct democracy.
Heiða Kristin Helgadóttir is an Icelandic politician and entrepreneur. She founded and led the Best Party and Bright Future.
Municipal elections took place in Iceland on 31 May 2014. 66% of eligible voters cast votes, the lowest proportion since Iceland gained independence.
Presidential elections took place in Iceland on 25 June 2016. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, elected in 1996, stepped down after serving five consecutive terms. Historian and lecturer Guðni Th. Jóhannesson was elected after receiving a plurality with 39.1% of the vote. He took office on 1 August, as the first new president of the Nordic country in twenty years.
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