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2013 Icelandic parliamentary election

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Icelandic parliamentary election, 2013
← 2009 27 April 2013 2017 →
All 63 seats to the Althing
32 seats needed for a majority
Turnout81.44%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Bjarni Benediktsson Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson Árni Páll Árnason
Party Independence Progressive Social Democratic
Leader since 29 March 2009 18 January 2009 2 February 2013
Last election 16 seats, 23.70% 9 seats, 14.80% 20 seats, 29.79%
Seats won 19 19 9
Seat change Increase3 Increase10 Decrease11
Popular vote 50,454 46,173 24,292
Percentage 26.70% 24.43% 12.85%
Swing Increase3.00% Increase9.63% Decrease16.94%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  File:Birgitta Jonsdottir .jpg
Leader Katrín Jakobsdóttir Guðmundur Steingrímsson Birgitta Jónsdóttir
Party Left-Green Bright Future Pirates
Leader since 24 February 2013 6 January 2012 24 November 2012
Last election 14 seats, 21.68% new party new party
Seats won 7 6 3
Seat change Decrease4 Increase6 Increase3
Popular vote 20,546 15,583 9,647
Percentage 10.87% 8.25% 5.10%
Swing Decrease11.19% Increase8.25% Increase5.10%
Prime Minister before election

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir0000
Social Democratic

Prime Minister-designate

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Progressive Party

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A parliamentary election was held in Iceland on 27 April 2013.[1] Fifteen parties contested the election, compared to just seven in the previous election.[2][3] The election was won by the two centre-right opposition parties, Independence Party and Progressive Party.[4] It is expected that the two parties will form a coalition government. The parties are eurosceptic, and their win may halt the current negotiations with the European Union regarding Icelandic membership.[4]

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

Main article: List of members of the Parliament of Iceland

Five parties were originally elected at the previous April 2009 election. 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. In January 2012, the new party Solidarity was founded by a 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 euroskeptic 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, as of the last working day of the parliament's term on 28 March 2013.[5]

Previous distribution of seats in parliament On 28 March 2013[6]
Social Democratic Alliance 19
File:Independence Party (Iceland) logo.png Independence Party 16
File:Left-green movement.PNG Left-Green Movement 11
Progressive Party 9
Bright Future (G. Steingrímsson and R. Marshall)[7][8] 2
File:Dogun logo.tiff Dawn (Þór Saari and Margrét Tryggvadóttir) 2
File:Rainbow (political party) logo.jpg Rainbow (Atli Gíslason and Jón Bjarnason)[9] 2
Pirate Party (Birgitta Jónsdóttir) 1
Solidarity (Lilja Mósesdóttir) 1

Retiring MPs

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

Constituencies

There are 6 constituencies in Iceland. According to the Law on Parliamentary Elections (nr.24/2000), each constituency is granted 9 seats decided by proportional voting in the constituency, and finally 9 special Leveling seats (either 1 or 2 per constituency, depending on their population size) will work to adjust the result, so that proportionality is also ensured according to the overall number of party votes at the national level. The number of constituency seats shall however be adjusted ahead of the next election, if the fraction of residents with suffrage per available seat in the constituency became more than twice as big in the latest election, when comparing the constituency with the highest fraction against the one with the lowest fraction. In that case a constituency seat shall travel from the constituency with the lowest figure to the one with the highest figure, until the result of the equation comply with the rule. However, the total number of seats (including leveling seats) must never become less than six in any constituency.[16][17] The box below display the number of available seats in each constituency at the 2013 parliamentary election.[18]

Constituency Constituency seats Leveling seats Total seats
Reykjavík North 9 2 11
Reykjavík South 9 2 11
Southwest 11 2 13
Northwest 7 1 8
Northeast 9 1 10
South 9 1 10
Total 54 9 63

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 amount 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. It should be noted that 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 the exact 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

Main article: List of political parties in Iceland

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 April 16 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 of 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,[44][45][6] and Liberal Democrats.[46][6]

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.

  • Independence Party: On April 11 2013 Chairman of the Independence Party Bjarni Benediktsson said he might step down as party chairman before the upcoming elections, according to an interview on RÚV.[61][62] This came following recent opinion polls which showed the party performing worse than their historically bad 2009 result,[62][63] and a MMR survey which showed the party’s popularity would increase with Vice Chairwoman and former Mayor of Reykjavík Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir as leader.[62] However, the following day the party's youth wing, Young Independents, declared their full support for Bjarni and on April 13 he announced he would continue on as leader, stating the party's decline in polls was not something that could be changed so easily.[64]
  • Bright Future: The chairman's grandmother announced on 9 March her shift away from a life-long political support for the Progressive Party, and now will stand as a 104 year old candidate for Bright Future in the Reykjavík North constituency (albeit as the last 22nd name of the list, with a low chance for election), and thus hoped to signal the party does not only represent a new generation, but also older generations.[65]
  • Iceland Democratic Party: On April 25 2013 the central committee of Iceland Democratic Party sent a letter to Dawn requesting they cooperate in the election, given that both parties were polling below the 5% threshold for leveling seats and were unlikely to gain constituency seats.[66] The letter proposed they send a joint letter to the National Election Committee requesting that their votes be counted together as one party.[66] Dawn refused the offer the next morning, saying the deadline for a joint candidacy had expired on April 12, and there would be doubt as to the legitimacy of their cooperating at that point.[66] The two parties had considered cooperating prior to the April 12 deadline, but discussions were unsuccessful.[66]
  • Right-Green Movement: The Right-Green Movement came under scandal when it was revealed that party chairman Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson didn't pay taxes in Iceland,[67] and also didn't have residency in Iceland (making him ineligible to run for parliament.)[68]
  • Rainbow: On March 16, 2013, Thorstein Bergsson, previously a candidate for the Left-Green Movement, announced he was leaving the party and joining Rainbow, saying he was disappointed by the party's position on the EU.[69] The party subsequently announced Thorstein would have the number two spot on the party's list in the Northeast constituency.[69]

Opinion polls

Graph of polls from January of 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
  Solidarity
  The Movement
  Other
Institute Release date Solidarity Left-Green Movement Social Democratic Alliance Dawn Democratic Party Pirate Party Bright Future Progressive Party Independence Party Right-Green Movement Others
2009 result 29 Apr 2009 New 21.68% 29.79% New New New New 14.80% 23.70% New 2.81%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Jan 2012 – 13.7% 21.8% 3.4% – – – 15.4% 36.1% – 9.5%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 9 Feb 2012 21.3% 8.0% 12.3% 1.7% – – 6.1% 12.5% 35.0% 0.9% 1.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Feb 2012 11.3% 12.0% 18.7% 2.7% – – 4.3% 13.0% 33.3% – 4.7%
MMR 18 Mar 2012 9.1% 11.3% 18.3% 2.6% – – 4.3% 13.2% 37.3% – 3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Mar 2012 8.9% 11.2% 17.5% 1.9% – – 4.7% 13.0% 38.2% – 4.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 12 Apr 2012 6.0% 8.6% 14.8% 2.1% – – 7.2% 14.6% 42.6% 2.3% 0.9%
MMR 17 Apr 2012 4.5% 13.2% 14.6% 2.1% – – 8.1% 14.5% 39.0% – 3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 26 Apr 2012 6.9% 11.5% 18.7% 5.4% – – 5.6% 12.5% 37.0% – 2.4%
MMR 15 May 2012 3.1% 14.1% 17.7% 2.6% – – 7.6% 12.8% 38.5% – 3.6%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 24 May 2012 5.1% 9.2% 13.6% 2.7% – – 5.3% 15.8% 43.7% – 3.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 May 2012 5.6% 10.4% 17.7% 5.4% – – 4.0% 12.9% 39.3% – 4.6%
MMR 19 Jun 2012 4.4% 13.3% 16.4% 3.1% – – 4.6% 17.5% 36.4% – 4.3%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Jun 2012 4.7% 11.9% 18.8% 4.3% – – 4.3% 12.7% 38.2% 3.6% 1.6%
MMR 16 Jul 2012 2.5% 11.4% 16.9% 3.9% – – 4.1% 17.0% 38.5% – 5.7%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Jul 2012 2.7% 12.2% 21.0% 4.1% – – 5.2% 12.4% 36.9% 3.1% 2.5%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Aug 2012 3.0% 13.3% 20.7% 3.7% – – 4.5% 13.8% 36.0% 3.0% 2.0%
MMR 6 Sep 2012 1.7% 12.9% 19.3% 1.4% – – 5.9% 13.3% 40.6% – 4.8%
MMR 20 Sep 2012 1.0% 15.8% 17.7% 2.6% – – 6.8% 17.0% 34.9% – 4.1%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 27 Sep 2012 2.4% 12.4% 19.4% 3.6% – – 4.9% 14.2% 37.1% 4.4% 1.7%
MMR 12 Oct 2012 3.1% 13.9% 21.2% 2.1% – – 8.8% 11.2% 35.3% 2.1% 1.9%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Oct 2012 1.9% 11.7% 22.1% 3.8% – – 6.9% 12.1% 36.2% 3.8% 1.7%
MMR 13 Nov 2012 2.3% 11.3% 18.6% 2.4% – – 10.8% 12.0% 37.7% 3.1% 1.8%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 29 Nov 2012 1.7% 10.6% 22.5% 3.8% – – 8.1% 12.7% 35.9% 3.3% 1.7%
MMR 11 Dec 2012 1.9% 11.2% 17.4% 3.1% – – 11.5% 13.6% 37.4% 2.0% 2.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Dec 2012 1.3% 9.1% 19.1% 3.0% – 2.5% 12.3% 13.1% 36.3% 2.6% 0.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 17 Jan 2013 0.6% 7.3% 19.2% 1.9% – 1.0% 14.4% 11.9% 40.7% 1.9% 1.0%
Plúsinn[70] 20 Jan 2013 1.0% 5.0% 19.9% 2.0% – 1.0% 14.1% 12.5% 40.6% 3.0% 0.1%
MMR 20 Jan 2012 1.4% 8.6% 17.3% 2.2% – – 17.6% 14.8% 34.5% 2.0% 1.5%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 31 Jan 2013 1.0% 7.9% 15.6% 2.1% – 2.1% 18.6% 14.2% 35.5% 2.5% 0.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 31 Jan 2013 – 11.4% 11.9% 1.5% – 0.9% 16.4% 20.8% 32.0% 4.3% 0.2%
Plúsinn[71] 3 Feb 2013 3.0% 5.7% 14.4% 2.0% – 2.0% 14.0% 18.4% 32.7% 6.0% 1.0%
MMR 6 Feb 2013 0.7% 8.6% 16.2% 0.9% – – 17.8% 19.5% 33.0% 1.8% 1.4%
MMR 26 Feb 2013 – 9.5% 12.8% 2.2% – 2.4% 15.3% 23.8% 28.5% 2.5% 3.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 28 Feb 2013 – 7.4% 15.4% 1.3% – 2.3% 16.2% 22.1% 29.7% 3.2% –
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 1 Mar 2013 – 11.8% 12.8% 2.0% 2.6% 1.5% 8.7% 26.1% 29.0% 2.6% 2.3%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ[72] 4 Mar 2013 – 9.9% 16.1% 0.9% 3.7% 1.8% 12.0% 22.4% 29.4% 2.3% 1.4%
MMR 14 Mar 2013 – 9.6% 12.4% 1.9% – 3.6% 15.2% 25.9% 27.2% 2.1% 2.0%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 15 Mar 2013 – 8.9% 14.0% 0.7% 3.3% 3.8% 13.2% 25.5% 26.8% 2.8% 1.0%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 16 Mar 2013 – 7.1% 13.8% 1.6% 1.4% 1.8% 9.1% 31.9% 27.6% 2.4% 2.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ[73] 26 Mar 2013 – 8.0% 12.8% 1.4% 2.6% 3.3% 11.4% 28.5% 26.1% 2.1% 3.0%
MMR 27 Mar 2013 – 8.7% 12.5% 1.7% 1.7% 3.9% 12.0% 29.5% 24.4% 2.5% 3.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 1 Apr 2013 – 8.5% 15.0% 1.5% 3.1% 4.4% 12.7% 28.3% 22.4% 2.1% 2.0%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 4 Apr 2013 – 5.6% 9.5% 0.6% 2.8% 5.6% 8.3% 40.0% 17.8% 3.5% 5.0%
MMR 8 Apr 2013 – 8.1% 12.7% 1.9% 3.6% 7.8% 9.2% 30.2% 21.2% 2.2% 3.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 10 Apr 2013 – 8.8% 12.6% 1.4% 3.0% 5.6% 10.9% 30.9% 18.9% 2.7% 5.2%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 11 Apr 2013 – 7.3% 12.2% 2.5% 3.8% 6.8% 10.1% 29.4% 21.9% – 6.0%
MMR 15 Apr 2013 – 6.7% 10.4% 3.6% 3.0% 9.0% 9.5% 32.7% 22.9% 1.0% 1.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 17 Apr 2013 – 7.9% 13.7% 3.0% 1.7% 5.6% 6.5% 30.3% 26.9% 0.8% 3.6%
MMR 18 Apr 2013 – 8.1% 13.5% 3.6% 2.2% 6.7% 8.3% 25.6% 27.5% 1.7% 2.6%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 18 Apr 2013 – 8.8% 15.2% 3.0% 2.6% 8.4% 8.0% 26.7% 24.1% 1.2% 2.0%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 19 Apr 2013 – 9.3% 12.2% 3.0% 3.3% 6.3% 7.4% 28.1% 24.4% 1.6% 4.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 24 Apr 2013 – 10.4% 13.3% 2.4% 2.6% 6.3% 8.1% 25.9% 23.8% 2.5% 4.7%
Félagsvísindastofnun HÍ 25 Apr 2013 – 10.8% 13.6% 3.2% 2.6% 6.4% 7.3% 24.4% 24.8% 2.8% 4.1%
MMR 25 Apr 2013 – 11.6% 13.0% 2.9% 3.5% 7.5% 7.7% 22.4% 26.7% 1.3% 3.4%
Fréttablaðið / Stöð 2 26 Apr 2013 – 10.9% 14.7% 3.0% 2.0% 6.3% 7.6% 25.4% 22.9% 2.4% 4.8%
Þjóðarpúls Gallup 26 Apr 2013 – 10.0% 14.6% 2.6% 2.8% 6.1% 6.6% 24.7% 27.9% 2.6% 2.1%
2013 result 28 Apr 2013 – 10.87% 12.85% 3.10% 2.46% 5.10% 8.25% 24.43% 26.70% 1.73% 4.51%
Institute Release date Solidarity Left-Green Movement Social Democratic Alliance Dawn Democratic Party Pirate Party Bright Future Progressive Party Independence Party Right-Green Movement Others
Notes:
  • The election threshold for a party to win leveling seats for the Icelandic parliament is 5.0% of the nationwide vote.
  • Prior to March 2012, Dawn was polled as The Movement.

Results

Template:Icelandic parliamentary election, 2013

The centre-right Independence party was one of the election's winners with 26.7% of the votes, regaining their traditional position as Iceland's largest party. Independence party chairman Bjarni Benediktsson will most likely become Iceland's new prime minister in a two-party coalition government with the centre-right Progress Party, which gained 9.6 pecentage points from the last election and got 24.4% of the votes. A common program for less austerity, lower taxes, and euroscepticism were seen as imporant reasons for their win. The governing parties, the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement, were seen as the biggest losers of the election.[4]

Two new parties will be represented in 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]

Bjarni Benediktsson said in a statement after the result was clear: "The Independence Party is called to duty again. We are offering an alternative to what the government has been doing for the last four years. They have chosen their path with increased taxes, we are talking about lowering taxes and putting emphasis on growth. We have had insufficient growth in the past few years and this is I think what people are realising is the only way forward. We are offering a different road, a road to growth, protecting social security, better welfare and job creation." He also said he was willing to begin coalition formation talks. While Sigmundur told his party supporters: ""We will change Iceland for the better very fast in the coming months and years."[74]

Following the election, a coalition government was formed between the Progressive Party and Independence Party with Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson as prime minister.[75] The Progressive Party received four ministries, and the Independence Party received five.[75]

Turnout

The 81.4% turn-out was the lowest in any general election since Iceland's independence from Denmark.[76]

By April 20, 9,582 people had voted using early voting.[77] This represented an increase of approximately 1,400 votes over the number of early votes cast in the 2009 election.[77] By April 26 24,850 people had voted.[78][78] Prior to the election, it was not clear whether this meant that turnout would be increased or just that early voting had become more popular.[77][78]

Elected MPs

Distribution of seats in the Icelandic Althing, after the parliamentary elections on 27 April 2013.
Distribution of seats in the Icelandic Althing, after the parliamentary elections on 27 April 2013.

Template:MembersAlthing2013

References

  1. ^ "Iceland Won't Finish EU Talks Before Next Parliament Election". Buisnessweek. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Stamps use up almost half the alphabet" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Fifteen parties in election" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election 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. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "General elections 2013 – News" (in Icelandic). Althingi. Retrieved 13 January 2012.[self-published source]
  7. ^ "Withdrawel came as a surprise" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Róbert Marshall first and Ottarr Proppé second" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  9. ^ "VG betrayed policy" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Þuríður Backman not seeking re-election" (in Icelandic). RUV. 11 September 2012.
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  28. ^ "Create a party to work with Progressive Party" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
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  32. ^ Blog of Bjarni Harðarson
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  44. ^ "The Christian's Political Party has been founded" (in Icelandic). Christian Political Movement (blog). 9 March 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
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  53. ^ Viðræðurnar við ESB verði settar á ís MBL.is
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  58. ^ "Bjarni opnar á Evrópumálin: Skattaleiðin hefur hvergi nokkurstaðar, aldrei nokkurn tímann verið leiðin útúr kreppu". 24 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  59. ^ "Útilokar ekki tillögu Þorgerðar". 23 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
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  63. ^ Newest Political Polls Showing Some Ups And Downs, The Reykjavík Grapevine, April 9, 2013
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  70. ^ Útvarpsþátturinn Sprengisandur á Bylgjunni 20. janúar 2013.
  71. ^ Útvarpsþátturinn Sprengisandur á Bylgjunni 3. febrúar 2013.
  72. ^ "Fylgið á mikilli hreyfingu á milli flokkanna“. Morgunblaðið, bls. 20–21, 28. mars 2013. Árvakur hf..
  73. ^ "Fylgið á mikilli hreyfingu á milli flokkanna“. Morgunblaðið, bls. 20–21, 28. mars 2013. Árvakur hf..
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  75. ^ a b "New Government Divvies Up The Ministries". The Reykjavík Grapevine. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  76. ^ Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson: Iceland set for coalition talks after government ousted Reuters, 28 April, 2013
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