Reykjavik Elections: Conservatives Come Out Ahead, Socialist Wins Seat

The Independence Party won the most seats last night in Reykjavík municipal elections, but what shape the next City Council majority will take is still up in the air. The final results came very close to the first numbers announced, when only 10% of the ballots had been counted.

With 90,135 on the voter registry, a voter turn-out of 67.4%, and 60,422 votes counted, the final results for Reykjavík’s 23-seat City Council are such (bearing in mind City Council is also going from 15 seats to 23):

S-list: the Social Democrats – 25.88%
Had: 5 seats
Has: 7 seats
D-list: the Independence Party – 30.77%
Had: 4 seats
Has: 8 seats
V-list: the Left-Greens – 4.58%
Had: 1 seat
Has: 1 seat
P-list: the Pirate Party – 7.73%
Had: 1 seat
Has: 2 seats
C-list: the Reform Party. – 8.16%
Had: 0 seat
Has: 2 seats
F-list: the People’s Party – 4.25%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 1 seat
M-list: the Centre Party – 6.13%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 1 seat
J-list: the Socialist Party – 6.37%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 1 seat
B-list: the Progressive Party – 3.17%
Had: 0 seats (their 2 seats from 2014 split into the Centre Party and Sveinbjörg, who is now O-list.)
Has: 0 seats
R-list: the People’s Front of Iceland – 0.25%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
Þ-list: the Freedom Party – 0.25%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
E-list: the Icelandic National Front – 0.21%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
H-list: the Capital City List – 0.62%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
K-list: the Women’s Movement – 0.90%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
Y-list: the Men’s Movement – 0.34%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats
O-list: Our City – Reykjavík – 0.39%
Had: 0 seats
Has: 0 seats

By these results, the Social Democrat-led majority has fallen. However, there is still a ways to go before a new majority is decided.

The Reform Party and the Socialist Party find themselves in key positions in forming the next coalition, and while the Socialists have ruled out supporting a majority led by the Independence Party, the Reform Party could potentially align with either the Independence Party or the Social Democrats.

The addition of eight more seats on Reykjavík City Council and 16 parties in the running undoubtedly played a role in these results. These elections also saw a record number of immigrants in the running, many of them in competitive positions in their respective parties.

The formation of the new majority will take place after party heads have had a chance to enter formal discussions with one another, which could take a few days.

A general overview of all the parties in the running can be found here. Our full elections coverage also includes interviews with many of the immigrants running in Reykjavík, the drama and intrigue of Reykjavík City Councils past, the battles being fought in the countryside, and more.