At a meeting held yesterday, Iceland’s Socialist Party (SPI) voted in favour of running for city council in Reykjavík, and elections will be held this May.
In a statement the party posted on their official site, SPI announce that party members voted in favour of beginning preparations straight away. This will include the fine tuning of a platform aimed specifically at the municipal level. That platform will be voted on no later than the end of March.
“It is the opinion of the party meeting that it is important to put a socialist platform forward on the municipal level, which supports the crucial fight for the interests of those who have been subject to social injustice,” the statement reads in part. “The City of Reykjavík has been waging a bloody low-wage policy against it low-wage workers, bears great responsibility for the housing crisis that undermines the quality of life of working people, while supporting housing rackets, rental companies, and contractors who have profited tremendously from those worst off in the housing crisis.”
SPI was formed on May 1, 2017 by writer and journalist Gunnar Smári Egilsson (shown above). Their platform is readily available in both English and Icelandic.
Municipal elections will be held on May 26, and not just for Icelandic citizens. Nordic nationals who have been living in Iceland for three consecutive years prior to the elections may vote. For all other foreigners, that period is five years. Regardless of national origin, only those who have had legal residence in Reykjavík at least three weeks prior to election day may vote for Reykjavík City Council.
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