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

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders voted to elect a new parliament Saturday after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call an early election.

All polling stations managed to open despite fierce weather in the sub-Arctic nation that left roads in many areas blocked by snow. Ballot-counting began after polls closed at 10 p.m. local time (2200GMT), with results expected early Sunday.

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

Opinion polls suggested the country could be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement.

“My expectation is like, something new (is) going to happen, hopefully," said Hörður Guðjónsson, voting in the capital, Reykjavik. “We always have had these old parties taking care of things. I hope we see the light now to come in with a younger people, new ideas.”

Iceland, a nation of about 400,000 people, is proud of its democratic traditions, describing itself as arguably the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy. The island’s parliament, the Althingi, was founded in 930 by the Norsemen who settled the country.

How does the election work?

Voters are choosing 63 members of the Althingi in an election that will allocate seats both by regional constituencies and 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 this election.

Turnout is traditionally high by international standards, with 80% of registered voters casting ballots in the 2021 parliamentary election.

Why now?

A windswept island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland normally holds elections during the warmer months of the year. But Benediktsson decided on Oct. 13 that his coalition couldn’t last any longer, and he asked President Halla Tómasdóttir to dissolve the Althingi.

“The weakness of this society is that we have no very strong party and we have no very strong leader of any party,’’ said Vilhjálmur Bjarnason a former member of parliament. “We have no charming person with a vision … That is very difficult for us.”

Despite the electoral headwinds, Benediktsson expressed confidence that his Independence Party could emerge on top.

“It was an uphill battle for my party, initially, but as we moved on into the election campaign, I think things started to turn our way and I feel that this will be a very exciting election day,” he said.

Why is Iceland's politics so fractured?

The splintering of Iceland's political landscape came after the 2008 financial crisis, which prompted years of economic upheaval after the country's debt-swollen banks collapsed.

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

“This is one of the consequences of the economic crash,’’ said Eva H. Önnudóttir, a professor of political science at the University of Iceland. “It’s just the changed landscape. Parties, especially the old parties, have maybe kind of been hoping that we would go back to how things were before, but that’s not going to happen.”

What are the issues?

Like many Western countries, Iceland has been buffeted 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 full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While inflation slowed to 5.1% in October, that is still high compared with neighboring countries. The U.S. inflation rate stood at 2.6% last month, while the European Union’s rate was 2.3%.

Iceland is also struggling to accommodate a rising number of asylum-seekers, creating tensions within the small, traditionally homogenous country. The number of immigrants seeking protection in Iceland jumped to more than 4,000 in each of the past three years, compared with a previous average of less than 1,000.

What about the volcano?

Repeated eruptions of a volcano in the southwestern part of the country have displaced thousands of people and strained public finances. One year after the first eruption forced the evacuation of the town of Grindavik, many residents still don’t have secure housing, leading to complaints that the government has been slow to respond.

But it also added to a shortage of affordable housing exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism boom. Young people are struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder at a time when short-term vacation rentals have reduced the housing stock available for locals, Önnudóttir said.

“The housing issue is becoming a big issue in Iceland,'' she said.

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