Iceland holds parliamentary elections after government collapse | Election news

The legislative election comes after the collapse of a fragile coalition, with the economy a top concern.

Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over the economy, immigration and the aftermath of volcanic eruptions forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to withdraw his coalition government and call early elections.

Saturday’s election is Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the North Atlantic island nation’s economy and ushered in a new era of political instability.

Opinion polls suggest the country could be facing another uprising, with support for the three ruling parties falling.

Benediktsson, who was appointed prime minister in April after his predecessor resigned, has struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement.

Severe weather in the sub-Arctic nation threatened to prevent some voters from reaching polling stations on Saturday, with heavy snow blocking roads in many areas.

The weather could also delay the delivery of ballot boxes to counting centers after polls close at 22:00 GMT.

Ten parties compete

Voters will elect 63 members of the Althingi – parliament – ​​in elections that will allocate seats both by regional constituencies and by proportional representation.

Parties need at least 5% of the vote to win seats in parliament. Eight parties were represented in the outgoing parliament, and 10 parties are contesting these elections.

Voter turnout is traditionally high by international standards, with 80% of registered voters voting in the 2021 parliamentary elections.

A windswept island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland normally holds elections in the warmer months of the year.

But on October 13, Benediktsson decided his coalition could no longer last and asked President Halla Tomasdottir to dissolve the Althingi.

The division of Iceland’s political landscape came after the 2008 financial crisis, which caused years of economic turmoil after the country’s debt-ridden banks collapsed.

The crisis led to anger and distrust of parties that had traditionally shifted power back and forth, and prompted the creation of new parties, from the environmentally-focused Left-Green Alliance to the Pirate Party, which advocates direct democracy and individual freedoms.

Like many Western countries, Iceland has been affected by the rising cost of living and immigration pressures.

Inflation peaked at an annual rate of 10.2% in February 2023, fueled by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While inflation eased to 5.1 percent in October, it is still high compared to neighboring countries.

The US inflation rate was 2.6 percent last month, while the European Union rate was 2.3 percent.

Public finances have also been strained by repeated eruptions of a volcano in the southwestern part of the country, which have displaced thousands of people.

A year after the first eruption forced the evacuation of Grindavik, many residents still lack safe housing, leading to complaints that the government has been slow to respond.

It also added to the affordable housing shortage, exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism boom.

Iceland is also struggling to accommodate a growing number of asylum seekers, creating tensions in the small, traditionally homogenous country.

The number of refugees seeking protection in Iceland has risen to more than 4,000 in each of the past three years, compared to a previous average of less than 1,000.