General election in Iceland 2017

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(in %)

 %

30th

20th

10

0

25.2

16.9

12.1

10.9

10.7

9.2

6.9

6.7

1.2

0.2

D.

V

S.

M.

B.

P

F.

C.

A.

Otherwise.

Gains and losses

compared to 2016

 % p

 12

 10

   8th

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

-3.8

+1.0

+6.4

+10.9

-0.8

-5.3

+3.4

-3.8

-6.0

-1.8

D.

V

S.

M.

B.

P

F.

C.

A.

Otherwise.

Distribution of seats

        

A total of 63 seats

• V : 11
• Q : 4
• S : 7
• P : 6
• B : 8
• C : 4
• M : 7
• D : 16

The 55th general election in Iceland in 2017 was an early election; it took place on October 28th. The 63 MPs of the Althing were elected.

Starting position

Distribution of seats after the 2016 election

       

A total of 63 seats

• V : 10
• S : 3
• P : 10
• B : 8
• A : 4
• C : 7
• D : 21

After the early parliamentary elections in Iceland in 2016 , which took place in the wake of the Panama Papers affair , seven parties moved into the Icelandic parliament Althing. After a difficult phase in forming a government, the liberal-conservative Independence Party under its chairman Bjarni Benediktsson managed to form a government coalition with the smaller liberal parties Viðreisn (Reform) and Björt framtíð (Bright Future). This coalition had a majority of one seat in the Althing.

On September 15, 2017 it was announced that Björt framtíð was leaving the coalition. As a result, the Bjarni Benediktsson cabinet broke up. The occasion was, the father of Bjarni Benediktsson, even an influential businessman that, with a letter for the "Restoring Honor" one because of child abuse convicted pedophile had used and Bjarni and his party has been accused of covering up the authorship of this letter tries to to have.

While in the first reactions the possibility of forming a new government without a new election had been put up for discussion, various representatives of the parties had already spoken out in favor of a new election in October, and on September 18 the Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson confirmed October 28th as the election date. At the same time, he rejected Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson's request to dissolve parliament immediately. The Althing could continue its session until the election; the decision on how to proceed is in the hands of parliament.

Electoral system

→ Main article : “Electoral system since 2003” in the article Althing

As in 2003, the six constituencies established in 1999 , each with seven to eleven seats, were elected. A further nine mandates are awarded nationwide to parties with more than 5% as compensation in order to obtain a relatively proportional distribution of mandates to the parties.

Parties

The following parties ran for election:

Party letter	Surname	translation	Alignment	comment
A.	Björt framtíð	Bright future, bright future	left-liberal, pro EU accession
B.	Framsóknarflokkurinn	Progress party	agrarian-liberal
C.	Viðreisn	Reform, remodeling, restoration, satisfaction	liberal, pro EU accession
D.	Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn	Independence party	liberal-conservative, against joining the EU
F.	Flokkur fólksins	People's Party, People's Party	populist
M.	Miðflokkurinn	Center Party	agrarian-liberal, populist	Founded in 2017 by Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson as a split from the Progressive Party
P	Píratar	Pirate party	Pirate movement
R.	Alþýðufylkingin	Popular Front of Iceland	socialist	Occurred only in the constituencies Northeast , Southwest and Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South at
S.	Samfylkingin	alliance	social democratic
T	Dögun	Dawn	liberal	Only occurred in the Southern constituency to
V	Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð	Left-Green Movement	left-green, feminist

The electoral lists submitted by the right-wing conservative “Icelandic National Front” (Íslenska þjóðfylkingin, party letter E) were all withdrawn after irregularities were discovered. The National Front did not take part in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

Results

The liberal-conservative Independence Party remained the strongest party with 25.2% of the vote, but lost five seats and got 16 seats in the Althing. The second largest party was the Left-Green Movement with 16.9% and 11 seats. The social democratic alliance was able to stop its downward trend in the last elections and again had seven seats in the Althing with 12% of the vote after the number of its representatives had shrunk to just three in the 2016 election. The newly founded, populist Miðflokkurinn (Center Party) led by Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson also had seven seats with 10.9% of the vote. The Progress Party , from which the Center Party split off, was able to hold its eight seats with 10.7%. The pirate party Píratar (from 14.5% and 10 seats to 9.2% and six seats) and the EU-friendly “reform party” Viðreisn (from 10.5% and seven seats to 6.7% and four ) had to record losses Seats), one of the coalition partners of the previous government. The other previous coalition partner of the Independence Party, the liberal Björt framtíð (Bright Future), left parliament with a share of 1.22% (2016: 7.2%, four seats). The populist Flokkur fólksins ( People's Party or People's Party ) has recently moved into the Althing and received four seats with 6.9%.

Based on the result, a governing coalition had to consist of at least three parties; it has been suggested that a four-party coalition will emerge. The possibility of a minority government was also discussed. The Independence Party, which had remained the strongest party, but had also suffered the greatest loss of seats, could not find any partners for coalition negotiations and so the Left-Green movement was commissioned by President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson to form a government. First attempts were made to form a coalition with the Social Democrats, the Pirates and the Progressive Party, but these negotiations failed. The Left-Green movement then formed a coalition with the Independence Party and the Progress Party. Katrín Jakobsdóttir became Prime Minister on November 30, 2017 . The two left-green MPs Andrés Ingi Jónsson and Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttir had voted against the coalition talks, but ultimately decided to remain in the parliamentary group, which gave the coalition 35 of the 63 seats in parliament. Andrés Ingi Jónsson left the left-green parliamentary group in November 2019 and has been non-attached since then .

Nationwide results

Party letter	Political party	be right	%	±%	Seats	±
D.	Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn Independence Party	49,543	25.2%	−3.8%	16	▼ 5
V	Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð Left-green movement	33,155	16.9%	+1.0%	11	▲ 1
S.	Samfylkingin Social Democratic Alliance	23,652	12.1%	+ 6.4%	7th	▲ 4
M.	Miðflokkurinn Center Party	21,335	10.9%	+ 10.9%	7th	▲ 7
B.	Framsóknarflokkurinn Progress Party	21,106	10.7%	−0.8%	8th	▬
P	Píratar pirate party	18.051	9.2%	−5.3%	6th	▼ 4
F.	Flokkur fólksins People's Party	13,502	6.9%	+ 3.4%	4th	▲ 4
C.	Viðreisn reform	13,122	6.7%	−3.8%	4th	▼ 3
A.	Björt framtíð Bright future	2,349	1.2%	−6.0%	-	▼ 4
R.	Alþýðufylkingin Popular Front of Iceland	375	0.2%	−0.1%	-	▬
T	Dögun dawn	101	0.1%	−1.6%	-	▬
total		201,777	100%	-	63	-
Source: iceland monitor

Results by constituency

Elected MPs in the constituencies. Each box corresponds to one MP

Mandates won in the 6 constituencies

Party letter	Reykiavik North	Reykiavik South	southwest	northwest	Northeast	south	total
D.	3	2	4th	2	2	3	16
V	3	2	2	1	2	1	11
B.	-	1	1	2	2	2	08th
S.	1	1	1	1	2	1	07th
M.	-	1	1	2	2	1	07th
P	2	2	1	-	-	1	06th
F.	1	1	1	-	-	1	04th
C.	1	1	2	-	-	-	04th
total	11	11	13	8th	10	10	63
Source: iceland monitor

Survey

The graphic shows the trend of the average polls of the parties before the election.

See also

• List of members of Althing 2017
• Icelandic political system

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jelena Ćirić: Elections Confirmed for October 28th ( English ) In: Iceland Review . September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
2. ^ Paul Fontaine: Iceland's New Right-Wing Government To Be Announced Tomorrow ( English ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . January 9, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
3. ↑ ^{a b} aev / Reuters: Political scandal: Government in Iceland falls apart . In: Spiegel Online . September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
4. ^ ^{A b} Rudolf Hermann: Iceland's power elite and their scandals . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
5. ↑ In Iceland a legal instrument that allows people convicted of serious crimes to recover certain lost rights, see: Laws for "restored honor" are 77 years old ( English ) In: Iceland Monitor . mbl.is / Morgunblaðið. September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
6. ↑ Jelena Ćirić: Prime Minister, Parties React to Government Disbanding ( English ) In: Iceland Review . September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
7. ↑ Auglýsing frá landskjörstjórn um lista sem verða í framboði við alþingiskosningarnar October 28, 2017 ( Icelandic ) Landskjörstjórn. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
8. ↑ Stigur Helgason: Þjóðfylkingin dregur alla lista Sina til baka ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið . October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
9. ^ Richard Martyn-Hemphill: Iceland Goes to Polls Amid Scandals, Disgust and Distrust ( English ) In: The New York Times . October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
10. ↑ Elías Þórsson: Flokkur Fólksins: The Populist Uprising? ( English ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . August 15, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
11. ↑ ^{a b} Jelena Ćirić: Final Election Results 2017 ( English ) In: Iceland Review . October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
12. ^ ^{A b} Paul Fontaine: Elections '17: Independence Party Strongest, Next Gov't Unclear ( English ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . October 29, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
13. ↑ Iceland's left-wing Greens fail to form a government. In: The Standard . November 6, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017 . 
14. ↑ Left-Green Jakobsdóttir becomes Prime Minister of Iceland. In: The Standard . November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017 . 
15. ↑ Stigur Helgason: Andrés og Rósa Verda Afram í þingflokknum ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið . November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
16. ↑ Andrés Ingi Jónsson hefur says sig úr þingflokki Vinstri grænna ( Icelandic ) Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð. November 27, 2019. Accessed June 7, 2020.
17. ↑ Ingvar Þór Björnsson: Andrés Ingi segir sig úr þingflokki Vinstre gränna ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið. November 27, 2019. Accessed June 7, 2020.

Web links

• Silke Bigalke: Again new elections on the island of the conformist . In: sueddeutsche.de . Southgerman newspaper. October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.