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Roundup: Final shape of Iceland's gov't unclear after close election

Xinhua, October 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

The final shape of Iceland's new government remains unclear after the current centre-right ruling coalition failed to win a majority in the parliamentary election, final results showed Sunday.

The Independence Party, one of the two ruling parties, took a strong lead by securing 21 out of the 63 seats in the parliament with winning 29.0 percent of the ballots cast, according to the results of Saturday's election published by Icelandic public broadcaster RUV.

However, the centrist Progressive Party, the other ruling party, finished fourth with only eight seats, 11 fewer than what it had gained in the last parliamentary election in 2013.

The opposition Left-Green Movement gained 10 seats with 15.9 percent of votes, while the Pirate Party, which had taken the lead in many pre-election polls over the months, also won 10 seats with 14.5 percent.

The newly-formed Vidreisn (Revival) party, the Bright Future and the Social Democratic Alliance also crossed the 5-percent electoral threshold with seven, four and three seats respectively.

Results showed neither the current centre-right ruling coalition of the Independence Party and the Progressive Party nor a possible alliance of four opposition parties managed to win a majority.

The Pirate Party and three left-centre parties, the Left-Green Movement, the Bright Future and the Social Democratic Alliance, declared before the election that they would work together to form a coalition government if they win enough seats.

Some local observers believe the Vidreisn (Revival) party, which was founded in May by some former Independence Party members, may play a key role to either extend the life of the incumbent government coalition or form an entirely different coalition.

However, it was still too early to say which parties would form the next government in the Nordic island country.

Icelanders cast ballots in the country's parliamentary election on Saturday, months after a global tax evasion scandal forced the prime minister to resign and prompted the snap vote.

About 246,500 voters were eligible to vote in the election, in which a total of 12 parties were vying for the 63 seats in the Icelandic parliament. Turnout in the election was 79.2 percent, a historic low.

The election was prompted by the resignation of Iceland's then prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson on April 5 after the so-called Panama Papers suggested Gunnlaugsson and other two cabinet members had ties with offshore companies.

Iceland's ruling center-right coalition on April 6 decided to appoint Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson as new prime minister and hold early general election in the autumn.

The centre-right camp Independence Party and the Progressive Party won the last parliamentary election in April 2013. But for the scandal, a general election would not come until April 2017. Endit