Iceland is a parliamentary democracy with a long history of upholding political rights and civil liberties. However, links between elected representatives and business interests remain a concern, as does the concentration of private media ownership.

• Halla Tómasdóttir was elected president in June, taking 34.3 percent of the vote in a field of six major candidates. An Organization for Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) preelection assessment team that visited in March had reported “full confidence in the electoral process and the ability of the election administration to professionally and transparently administer the presidential election,” and declined to send a full mission to observe the poll itself. Voter turnout was 80 percent.
• In October, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence Party (IP), citing an impasse on economic and other policy with coalition partners, called snap elections, and the IP-led coalition lost its majority in November’s polls. A new coalition government formed after several weeks of negotiations, led by the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA), which took 15 seats in 63-seat parliament, up from 6 previously. Kristrún Frostadóttir of the SDA became prime minister. The IP won 14 seats, down from the 16 it had secured in 2021, and was excluded in the governing coalition for only the second time since 1991; the Left-Green Movement (LGM), which had been among the IP’s coalition partners, lost all 8 of its seats. The OSCE declined to send a monitoring mission; the polls were considered free and fair and stakeholders accepted the results.
• In April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Iceland, saying the state had violated the right to effective legal remedy and the right to free elections. The ruling involved irregularities that took place during a recount in the northwest electoral district following the 2021 parliamentary elections. Iceland was required to pay the two applicants €13,000 ($14,000) each in damages.

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For additional background information, see last year’s full report.