The legislative election takes place after the collapse of a fragile coalition, with the financial system being a prime concern.
Icelanders are electing a brand new parliament after disagreements over the financial system, immigration, and the fallout from volcanic eruptions compelled Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to tug the plug on his coalition authorities and name an early election.
Saturday’s election is Iceland’s sixth common election for the reason that 2008 monetary disaster devastated the financial system of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a brand new period of political instability.
Opinion polls recommend the nation could also be in for an additional upheaval, with assist for the three governing events plunging.
Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to carry collectively the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Occasion with the centrist Progressive Occasion and the Left-Inexperienced Motion.
Harsh climate within the sub-Arctic nation threatened to hamper some voters attending to polling stations on Saturday, with heavy snow blocking roads in lots of areas.
The climate may additionally delay the supply of poll packing containers to counting centres after polls shut at 10pm (22:00 GMT).
Ten events compete
Voters will select 63 members of the Althingi – parliament – in an election that may allocate seats each by regional constituencies and proportional illustration.
Events want a minimum of 5 p.c of the vote to win seats in parliament. Eight events had been represented within the outgoing parliament, and 10 events are contesting this election.
Turnout is historically excessive by worldwide requirements, with 80 p.c of registered voters casting ballots within the 2021 parliamentary election.
A windswept island close to the Arctic Circle, Iceland usually holds elections through the hotter months of the yr.
However on October 13, Benediktsson determined his coalition couldn’t final any longer, and he requested President Halla Tomasdottir to dissolve the Althingi.
The splintering of Iceland’s political panorama got here after the 2008 monetary disaster, which prompted years of financial upheaval after the nation’s debt-swollen banks collapsed.
The disaster led to anger and mistrust of the events that had historically traded energy forwards and backwards and prompted the creation of latest events starting from the environment-focused Left-Inexperienced Alliance to the Pirate Occasion, which advocates direct democracy and particular person freedoms.
Like many Western nations, Iceland has been buffeted by the rising price of dwelling and immigration pressures.
Inflation peaked at an annual price of 10.2 p.c in February 2023, fuelled by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Whereas inflation slowed to five.1 p.c in October, that’s nonetheless excessive in contrast with neighbouring nations.
The US inflation price stood at 2.6 p.c final month, whereas the European Union’s price was 2.3 p.c.
Public funds have additionally been strained by repeated eruptions of a volcano within the southwestern a part of the nation, which have displaced 1000’s of individuals.
One yr after the primary eruption compelled the evacuation of the city of Grindavik, many residents nonetheless should not have safe housing, resulting in complaints that the federal government has been sluggish to reply.
It has additionally added to a scarcity of reasonably priced housing exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism increase.
Iceland can be struggling to accommodate a rising variety of asylum seekers, creating tensions inside the small, historically homogenous nation.
The variety of refugees searching for safety in Iceland jumped to greater than 4,000 in every of the previous three years, in contrast with a earlier common of fewer than 1,000.
