Icelanders were voting on Saturday in the second snap election in a year marked by deep distrust in the scandal-hit political class despite a thriving economy bolstered by booming tourism.
Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson of the conservative Independence Party called the vote last month after a junior member of the three-party centre-right coalition quit over a legal controversy involving his father. Saturday’s election is Iceland’s fourth since 2008. Opinion polls published by public broadcaster RUV and the daily Morgunbladid shows the Independence Party could win 17 seats in the 63-seat Parliament, the Althingi.
Some voters queuing to cast ballots at Reykjavik city hall said they were weary of endless polls and establishment cronyism. “I hate the election and it’s the last time I’m going to vote! I want change! We have the same crooks coming back again and again,” said Jonsson Hjorttur, 55. “It’s a good thing to have a second snap vote. I’m happy to see a chance for Iceland to form a new government,” a 39-year-old.
