Iceland was to become the first country in Europe in electing more women than men in Parliament, after the results of this Sunday in a legislative session marked by the weakened position of the prime minister, in an outgoing coalition that still has a majority representation.
Of the 63 seats in the Althingi (Parliament), 33 would be occupied by women, which represented 52.3% of the hemicycle, after the elections on Saturday in this country of 370,000 inhabitants.
It was a historic result, since no country in Europe had flanked the symbolic 50% barrier, with Sweden so far in first place with 47% of women deputies, according to the World Bank.
But something changed. A tally of the final election results came to represent less than 50% of the hemicycle, indicated an electoral official to the AFP.
After this new count, which modified the results in one of the six districts of the country, three women lost the seat that in they had obtained at first and the part of the deputies in the new Parliament fell from 33 to 30, Ingi Tryggvason, president of the local electoral commission, explained to AFP.
“Those few votes of difference involve this great ruckus,” he stated.
Nobody asked for it, but “We decided to recount because the result was very narrow”added the electoral manager of the Northwest constituency.
Even so, uncertainty continues to reign in part, as a possible recount in another district, in the south of the country, it could have consequences.
Before this second recount took place, officials and citizens expressed their satisfaction to see that little Iceland (370,000 inhabitants) entered the history of European politics.
“I am 85 years old, I have waited all my life for women to be the majority (…) and I am really very happy“Erdna, a resident of Reykjavik, the capital of this Nordic country, told AFP.
Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland. Photo AFP
Despite the fact that several parties reserve a minimal proportion of women among their own candidates, there is no law imposing a fee in the legislative in Iceland, according to the democratic organization International Idea.
Vanguard
Iceland is usually at the forefront in the cause of women and has topped the World Economic Forum ranking for gender equality for 12 consecutive years.
“I am very satisfied that women have reached over 50% of the seats, I think this is the normal course of what has happened in Iceland for a century,” said Thora Kolbeinnsdottir, bookseller and social worker.
Paradoxically, despite this unprecedented situation, it is a woman who has suffered the most in these elections: Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, whose Left-Green Movement party lost three seats and won 12.6% of the vote behind her two current right-wing allies.
The vote on Saturday, in Reykjavil. AP Photo
The big winner is the Progress Party (center-right), which won 13 seats, five more than in the last legislative elections of 2017, with 17.3% of the votes.
Joy reigned on Saturday in this formation, that returns “to the foreground of the political scene”, según su líder, Sigurour Ingi Jóhannsson.
The Independence Party (Conservative) of former Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson nevertheless remains the main force in the country, with 24.4% of the votes, so that it retains its 16 seats.
Alliances
With a total of 37 deputies, the three allied parties consolidate their majority, but the right is in a position of strength, with the options of forming a coalition with another ideologically closer partner such as the centrists Reforma (five seats), Centro (three) or even the Popular Party (six).
Although the future of the coalition remains uncertain, Iceland moves away from a blockade scenario political as the polls announced.
Since the spectacular failure of Icelandic banks in 2008, never has an island government retained its majority. You have to go back to 2003 to find a precedent.
The weakening of the prime ministerInstead, he raises the question of his future in Stjornarradid, the seat of government.
“Given the decline we are seeing, Left-Green may have to reassess their position in government, “explained Eva Önnudóttir, Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland.
Since 2017, Jakobsdottir has introduced the most progressive taxes, investing in social housing and paternity leave.
His management of the covid-19, with only 33 dead, has been praised. But this left-wing ecologist in power also had to give up goals to save her coalition, such as her promise to create a national park in the center of the country.
That alliance gave Iceland four years of stability after a decade of crisis ..
Between 2007 and 2017, Icelanders had to go to the polls five times to elect their deputies in a context of distrust in the face of the political class and repeated scandals.
AFP Agency
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