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Reactions to yesterday’s news that the Supreme Court has ruled the elections for the constitutional assembly invalid have been mixed. The Prime Minister assured the people that there will be a constitutional assembly.
As reported, the Supreme Court – reviewing numerous complaints that Icelandic voting law was broken on a number of occasions throughout the election process – yesterday ruled that the elections were invalid.
Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir told reporters that she was “disappointed” with the ruling, but that the people will not be denied a constitutional assembly. She also railed against members of the Independence Party, who said that the elections had been a “failed experiment.”
“The conservatives are nervous,” she said in part, “because they are terrified of a constitutional assembly,” saying that changing the constitution would, in many ways, alter the conservative ideas that have controlled the control since independence in 1944.
Be that as it may, Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson said that the conclusion of the Supreme Court could not have been any different than what it was.
“When a lawful election is called for, you need to prove that there has not been a single violation against an individual that could render the election illegal,” he told Vísir in part. “The conclusion [of the court] could not have been otherwise.”
Reactions from the members of the elected assembly were also mixed, with measures of disappointment and dry humour.
Journalist Illugi Jökulsson, writing on his Facebook, commented, “Personally I find the worst part is that I won’t get a chance to call myself ‘senator’.”
Political scientist Silja Ómarsdóttir said that she was surprised that such a large project as the constitutional assembly elections were not thought out in accordance with election law.
Professor Þorvaldur Gylfason, who received the most votes in the election, remained philosophical, saying, “I just look at the news tonight like any other. The matter is not in my hands. We’ll just see what happens.”
Related:
Constitutional Assembly Elections Ruled Invalid