Icelanders vote with climate change on everyone’s mind
By EGILL BJARNASON
Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
Brynjar Gunnarsson
An election poster from the Social Democratic Alliance, saying "green attack" in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
People arrive at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
A vies of a Ballot box in a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
Independent Party candidate Bjarni Benediktsson casts his ballot at a polling station, in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Arni Torfason
Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir casts her vote at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Arni Torfason
Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
A woman reads instructions inside a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Arni Torfason
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
A man walks toward an election poster from the Left Green Party, showing Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir and saying "It isn't coincidence that maternity leave is now 12 months" in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Arni Torfason
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Arni Torfason
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Arni Torfason
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
People line-up to vote at a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
People arrive as polling stations open in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
A man enters the Left Green Party election office in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
The polling station in Reykjavik City hall is ready for election day in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming.
Brynjar Gunnarsson
People walk past the Pirate Party election office in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. The Pirate Party wants to support a plant-based diet among the population.
Egill Bjarnason
Farmer Hermann Gunnarsson and Ingibjorg Leifsdottir stand in their field as they gather their largest harvest of barley in thirty years in Eyja Fjord, northern Iceland Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders were voting Saturday in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.
Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government.
A record nine parties could cross the 5% threshold needed to qualify for seats in Iceland’s parliament, the Althing. Upstart parties include the Socialist Party, which is promising to shorten the work week and nationalize Iceland’s fishing industry.
High turnout is expected, as one-fifth of eligible voters have already cast absentee ballots.
Climate change is high among voters’ concerns in Iceland, a glacier-studded volcanic island nation of about 350,000 people in the North Atlantic.
An exceptionally warm summer by Icelandic standards — 59 days of temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius (68 F) — and shrinking glaciers have helped drive global warming up the political agenda.
Polls show strong support for left-leaning parties promising to cut carbon emissions by more than Iceland is already committed to under the Paris climate agreement. The country has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040, a decade ahead of most other European nations.
The current government is a coalition of three parties spanning the political spectrum from left to center-right and led by Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir of the Left Green Party. It was formed in 2017 after years of political instability.
Jakobsdottir remains a popular prime minister, but polls suggest her party could fare poorly, ending the ongoing coalition.
“The country is facing big decisions as we turn from the pandemic,” Jakobsdottir said during a televised debate on Friday night in which party leaders vowed to end Iceland’s reliance on oil and many wanted to raise taxes on the rich.
