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Could Iceland be heading for new elections?

12/8/2016

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As informal talks between Iceland’s newly elected representatives drag on, with no formal solution in sight, the possibility of sending the people back to the polls is being mooted in some quarters.
“It wouldn’t be a catastrophe,” said the Finance Minister in Iceland’s current caretaker government Bjarni Benediktsson on Icelandic national television yesterday.
“If the upshot of the political conflicts of 2016 is that the election results [of 29 October] make it impossible to line things up in such a way as to foster trust and a common vision for the tasks ahead, then I see no problem in voting again. This is just democratic.”
He admits, however, that he does not necessarily see this at the most likely scenario at this stage.

Pirate Party MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who has been formally mandated by the President of Iceland to form a government – the third party representative to attempt to do so – has told Icelandic news website mbl.is (link in Icelandic) that talks to end the deadlock are progressing “slowly but surely”.
Jónsdóttir is working towards a five-party coalition – unprecedented in Icelandic political history – bringing together all Icelandic parliamentary parties except the two currently in government.
MORE: Iceland now has fourth most female parliament in the world
This line-up was attempted last month by leader of the Left-Green Movement Katrín Jakobsdóttir – the second party leader to be given the presidential mandate, after Benediktsson himself – but formal talks ultimately broke down.
Jónsdóttir is, however, confident that things are now going better this time round and insists that progress is being made. Informal talks are expected to continue for the next few days, with a decision on whether it is worth launching formal coalition negotiations between the five parties to be taken towards the end of this week.
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    Election 2016 Results 

    Invalid/blank votes 5,574
    Total 195,204
    Registered voters 246,515
    ​Turnout 79.19%

    Independence Party (54,990) 29.00% 21 seats
    Left-Green Movement (30,166) 15.91% 10 seats
    Pirate Party (27,449) 14.48% 10 seats
    Progressive Party (21,791) 11.49% 8 seats
    Reform (19,870) 10.48% 7 seats
    Bright Future (13,578) 7.16% 4 seats
    Social Democratic Alliance (10,893) 5.74% 3 seats
    People’s Party (6,707) 3.54 % No seats
    Dawn (3,275) 1.7% No seats
    People’s Front of Iceland (575) 0.30% No seats
    Icelandic National Front (303) 0.16% No seats
    Humanist Party (33) 0.02% No seats

    In brief | Pirate Party
    What: A pro-free speech, anti-authoritarian political party in Iceland
    Formed: 2012

    Founders: A group of anarchists, hackers and internet-freedom activists

    Leader: The party eschews formal leaders but Birgitta Jonsdottir is the most senior of three Pirate lawmakers in Iceland’s parliament

    Pirate policies
    • direct democracy
    • a new national constitution
    • public vetoes over new laws
    • greater scrutiny of the workings of government
    • strict safeguards for individuals’ online and offline privacy
    • public ownership of the country’s natural resources

    “I would like everybody in Iceland to find the pirate within, because the pirate within really represents change and a collective vision for the future.”
    - Birgitta Jonsdottir, Pirate Party lawmaker

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