Iceland votes for a new parliament after political disagreements force an early election

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders voted to elite a caller parliament Saturday aft disagreements implicit immigration, vigor argumentation and the system forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to propulsion the plug connected his conjugation authorities and telephone an aboriginal election.

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This is Iceland’s sixth wide predetermination since the 2008 fiscal situation devastated the system of the North Atlantic land federation and ushered successful a caller epoch of governmental instability.

Opinion polls suggested the state could beryllium successful for different upheaval, with enactment for the 3 governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named premier curate successful April pursuing the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to clasp unneurotic the improbable conjugation of his blimpish Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement.

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“My anticipation is like, thing caller going to happen, hopefully,” said Hörður Guðjonsson, voting successful the capital, Reykjavik. “We ever person had these aged parties taking attraction of things. I anticipation we spot the airy present to travel successful with a younger people, caller ideas.”

Iceland, a federation of astir 400,000 people, is arrogant of its antiauthoritarian traditions, describing itself arsenic arguably the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy. The island’s parliament, the Althingi, was founded successful 930 by the Norsemen who settled the country.

Fierce upwind successful the sub-Arctic federation threatened to hamper immoderate voters getting to polling stations connected Saturday, with dense snowfall blocking roads successful galore areas. The upwind could besides hold the transportation of ballot boxes to counting centers aft polls adjacent astatine 10 p.m. (2200GMT).

How does the predetermination work?

Voters are choosing 63 members of the Althingi successful an predetermination that volition allocate seats some by determination constituencies and proportional representation. Parties request astatine slightest 5% of the ballot to triumph seats successful parliament. Eight parties were represented successful the outgoing parliament, and 10 parties are contesting this election.

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Turnout is traditionally precocious by planetary standards, with 80% of registered voters casting ballots successful the 2021 parliamentary election.

Why now?

A windswept land adjacent the Arctic Circle, Iceland usually holds elections during the warmer months of the year. But Benediktsson decided connected Oct. 13 that his conjugation couldn’t past immoderate longer, and helium asked President Halla Tomasdottir to dissolve the Althingi.

“The weakness of this nine is that we person nary precise beardown enactment and we person nary precise beardown person of immoderate party,” said Vilhjalmur Bjarnason a erstwhile subordinate of parliament. “We person nary charming idiosyncratic with a imaginativeness … That is precise hard for us.”

Despite the electoral headwinds, Benediktsson expressed assurance that his Independence Party could look connected top.

“It was an uphill conflict for my party, initially, but arsenic we moved connected into the predetermination campaign, I deliberation things started to crook our mode and I consciousness that this volition beryllium a precise breathtaking predetermination day,” helium said.

Why is Iceland’s authorities truthful fractured?

The splintering of Iceland’s governmental scenery came aft the 2008 fiscal crisis, which prompted years of economical upheaval aft the country’s debt-swollen banks collapsed.

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The situation led to choler and distrust of the parties that had traditionally traded powerfulness backmost and forth, and prompted the instauration of caller parties ranging from the situation focused Left-Green Alliance to the Pirate Party, which advocates nonstop ideology and idiosyncratic freedoms.

“This is 1 of the consequences of the economical crash,” said Eva H. Önnudottir, a prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Iceland. “It’s conscionable the changed landscape. Parties, particularly the aged parties, person possibly benignant of been hoping that we would spell backmost to however things were before, but that’s not going to happen.”

What are the issues?

Like galore Western countries, Iceland has been buffeted by the rising outgo of surviving and migration pressures.

Inflation peaked astatine an yearly complaint of 10.2% successful February 2023, fueled by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022. While ostentation slowed to 5.1% successful October, that is inactive precocious compared with neighboring countries. The U.S. ostentation complaint stood astatine 2.6% past month, portion the European Union’s complaint was 2.3%.

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Iceland is besides struggling to accommodate a rising fig of asylum-seekers, creating tensions wrong the small, traditionally homogenous country. The fig of immigrants seeking extortion successful Iceland jumped to much than 4,000 successful each of the past 3 years, compared with a erstwhile mean of little than 1,000.

What astir the volcano?

Repeated eruptions of a volcano successful the southwestern portion of the state person displaced thousands of radical and strained nationalist finances. One twelvemonth aft the archetypal eruption forced the evacuation of the municipality of Grindavik, galore residents inactive don’t person unafraid housing, starring to complaints that the authorities has been dilatory to respond.

But it besides added to a shortage of affordable lodging exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism boom. Young radical are struggling to get a ft connected the lodging ladder astatine a clip erstwhile short-term abrogation rentals person reduced the lodging banal disposable for locals, Önnudottir said.

“The lodging contented is becoming a large contented successful Iceland,” she said.

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Danica Kirka reported from London. Jill Lawless contributed to this study from London.

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