With elections only 14 weeks away, who will be Iceland’s next president is still decidedly uncertain.
Presidential elections in Iceland will be held on June 25, and those who intend to run need to announce their candidacy no later than May 21. MBL reports that 13 people have already announced they are running for president, while a few remaining individuals have still not made their position clear.
Author Þorgrímur Þráinsson was one of the first to announce he is running for president. Around the same time, Hildur Þórðardóttir, author Elísabet Jökulsdóttir and YouTube star Ari Jósepsson also came forward.
Perennial presidential candidate Ástþór Magnússon is once again running, but numerous others have also thrown their hats in the ring, most of them for the first time. These candidates span a wide range of Icelandic society.
Amongst these others who have announced they are running for president are Sturla Jónsson, a truck driver best known for taking part in the 2009 anti-government protests; electrical engineering specialist Heimir Örn Hólmarsson; hospital priest Vigfús Bjarna Albertsson; businesswoman Halla Tómasdóttir; East Iceland priest and former comedian Davíð Þór Jónsson; former head of the Right-Green Party Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson; sociologist Hrannar Pétursson and former CEO of Coca-Cola in Iceland Bæring Ólafsson. This last candidate intended to run in 2012, but withdrew his candidacy after out-going President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson announced his intention to run again.
On top of all this, numerous names have come up in the discussion, even though they have yet to announce they are running. These include authors Andri Snær Magnússon and Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, as well as Social Democrat MP and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson.
Perhaps serving as an indication of how seriously people are taking this election, another candidate for president is Humar Linduson Eldjárn, a stuffed lobster with a fake Facebook profile.
With a candidacy deadline still two months away, even more names may still be added to this group. There are as yet no formal polls on who amongst them is currently taking the lead in the road to the presidency.
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