Parliamentary Elections Simplified

Translation: Sindri Snær Jónsson

Over the last few months, coverage of the Parliamentary elections, which took place on September 25th, has been inescapable. Whether you stayed up all night keeping tabs on the latest numbers, shook your head over the commotion before going to bed early, or sat on the sofa scratching your head while watching, here are a few questions and answers that everyone would benefit from knowing. 

What is Alþingi?

Alþingi is the Icelandic Legislative Assembly. It is situated at the Parliament House in the centre of Reykjavík. Alþingi was first established in Þingvellir in 930, but it has changed a great deal since then. In the old days, Alþingi was only held once a year during the summertime. All of Iceland’s greatest leaders would come together to discuss relevant issues and integrate new laws. The Alþingi we see today is, at its core, not too different from how it was back in the day, as its main objective is still to set new laws and to discuss current issues. However, the main difference in today’s age is its appearance and how it works. There is significantly more diversity amongst the members of Parliament, whose work is built on the law of democracy, meaning that members work to serve the public.

What does Alþingi do?

As mentioned above, Alþingi’s primary role is to form new laws. They may accept new laws, reform old ones or nullify outdated ones. However, that is not the only role they play. Parliament members serve as a medium between the people and government and must relay the ideas and interests of the public to the government. Members may do this as they take the stand when they come together at Alþingi. Perhaps nobody has taken this role as seriously as Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir as she once stood at the pulpit for over twelve hours protesting a bill that she claimed would be to the detriment of the public. Alþingi also has authority over the government and sees that they are held accountable for their actions. The Parliament can therefore proclaim their distrust towards the current government and call for new Parliamentary Elections. In the most severe cases, they can sue the government or a minister for violating the constitution. This has only happened once, following the 2008 financial crisis, when Geir H. Haarde, then Prime Minister, was sentenced for not fulfilling his duty while in office. 

What is the government?

Ministers are members of the government administration. They are appointed to the position from a selection of Parliament members after the Parliamentary elections. When the election results are in, the President will give the power to negotiate an administration to the party that is most likely to be successful. In the vast majority of cases, it is the party that received the most seats in Parliament. The seats are 63 in all and are shared by constituencies in proportion to their respective populations. For an administration to be operable, the administration parties will have to have the majority of seats in Parliament. This is the only formal condition for forming an administration, but parties can make their own demands about what kind of coalition they are ready to enter. This can complicate negotiations. Times were so brutal in 2017 that negotiations shifted between a few parties, and the forming of the new administration was not successful until two and a half months after the elections. 

What does the government do?

The Cabinet of Ministers (ísl. Ríkisstjórnin) is the executive branch of the state and usually what is referred to as the government. This executive power allows the government to integrate laws, policies, and plans of action. Iceland’s ministers share the executive power so that each one has authority over one sector of the government. These sectors are called ministries, and they vary as much as the ministers are many. The most influential of these is the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. These ministries control which issues make it onto the government’s agenda and how they are funded. This is crucial, as the issues that get no attention or funding do not make it through the government. An example of an issue that got onto the government’s agenda but did not make it through, was a bill that would make mental healthcare government-subsidized. The bill was accepted in Parliament in the summer of 2020, but although the bill was made into law, the subsidy is yet to be seen, as no room was made for it in the government budget.

How do Parliamentary Elections work?

Parliamentary elections are held every four years unless a dissolution of Parliament occurs before the term ends. This has happened many times in Icelandic history, the newest example being Bjarni Benediktsson’s government which dissolved in 2017 after operating for eight months. In Iceland, list elections are held when electing new members for Alþingi. Political parties who are running then make a list of their candidates in every constituency, which are six in all in the country. On election day, the voters choose the list they like best. When ballot-counting finishes, the amount of parliamentary seats given to each party stems from the number of votes they received in each respective constituency. A few parliamentary seats are not bound to constituencies, called equalization seats, which allow smaller parties to get a spot in Parliament. This rule has been utilized well in recent years, and the number of parties in Alþingi has almost doubled since the financial crisis. 

What are Parliamentary Elections for?

One of the core elements of democracy is elections. They ensure that government powers and the Parliament work to serve the public. Before, the public had limited opportunities to express their worries, pleasures, or troubles to the government. This caused all the power to fall into the hands of a small “elite,” who had little reason to use it to help the country as a whole. Nevertheless, thanks to various social changes over the years, the public today has a greater platform to make themselves heard. The biggest privilege is to be able to vote for members of Parliament. The members of Parliament and the government form a policy and administration for the next four years, allowing them enough time to make a change for the better or to run it into the ground.