Iceland Votes As Hung Parliament Predicted

Icelanders voted on Saturday in an election that could see its unprecedented left-right coalition lose its majority, despite bringing four years of stability after a decade of crises

Reykjavik, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Sep, 2021 ) :Icelanders voted on Saturday in an election that could see its unprecedented left-right coalition lose its majority, despite bringing four years of stability after a decade of crises.

With the political landscape more splintered than ever, the process of forming a new coalition could be more complicated than in the past.

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, whose Left-Green Movement had never led a government before, is seeking a second mandate but the large number of parties could stand in her way.

Opinion polls suggest a record nine parties out of 10 are expected to win seats in the Althing, Iceland's almost 1,100-year-old parliament.

That makes it particularly tricky to predict which parties could end up forming a coalition.

First results were expected shortly after polling stations close at 10:00 pm (2200 GMT), but a clear picture was not expected to emerge until Sunday.

After casting her ballot in a Reykjavik secondary school, Jakobsdottir told AFP she was feeling cautiously optimistic about her chances.

"The polls haven't been too favourable for my party but they seem to be going up."