The final vote in Saturday's election is not yet in, but it is already clear that there will be a preponderance of women members in the new Althing. This will be a first for an elected national assembly, in Europe at least. It also appears that the ruling coalition has slightly strengthened its position. Euronews reports:
Iceland’s coalition government appeared likely to continue after voters rallied around the political centre in a volatile parliamentary election. The outcome may become historic: The incoming members of parliament were 54% women on Sunday morning, when nearly all votes had been counted. If the number holds, Iceland’s Althing parliament will have a female majority for the first time. According to data compiled by the World Bank, no country in Europe had ever passed the symbolic 50% mark, with Sweden leading the way with 47% female MPs. Polls had suggested a victory for left-leaning parties in the unpredictable election, which saw 10 parties competing for the Althing’s 63 seats. Instead, the centre-right Independence Party took the largest share of votes, and there were big gains for the centrist Progressive Party.[Later] Not so fast. The final count shows that males will still predominate - just. Reuter says:
a recount of votes on Sunday showed there will still be more men than women in the chamber, state broadcaster RUV reported.
One wonders whether Iceland will still beat Sweden, the previous record-holder.
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