Vote Of No Confidence Fails At Alþingi

UPDATED 18.04

A vote of no confidence was proposed to Alþingi on April 17. The Pirate Party and the People’s Party (Flokkur Fólksins) have prepared the bill stipulating that parliament should be dissolved before July 26, with new elections to be held on September 7.

There are 38 members of parliament in the three parties comprising the coalition, whereas the opposition holds 25 MPs. The motion is expected to fail.

Chairperson of the People’s Party Inga Sæland is the bill’s first speaker. Earlier in April, she motioned for the impeachment of former minister of agriculture, food and fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir for placing a moratorium on whaling. The impeachment inquiry did not reach Alþingi’s agenda. In the meantime, Svandís became Minister of Infrastructure.

The motion’s deliberation commenced at 17:00, April 17, and concluded at 22:15. The bill failed with 35 votes against 25.