Iceland
Parliamentary Election 30 November 2024
Winter weather
Ahead of Iceland’s 2024 snap parliamentary election on 30 November, the weather forecast indicated heavy blizzard conditions for the eastern part of the island (Zubenko 2024). On election day the weather conditions were better than expected, however there were some yellow warnings in effect in the northeast (Lilja Ragnarsdóttir 2024)
Impact on the electoral process
Ahead of polling, the National Electoral Commission and the Icelandic Met Office were in close contact in order to ensure contingency plans and the possibility of postponing the vote in case of severe weather (Tómas 2024). Voting on election day was not significantly disrupted, as the Icelandic Road Administration worked well with the election committees to ensure accessibility by clearing snow from the roads. This followed reports of worsened road conditions in rural areas and impassable mountain roads (Ólafsson 2024a; Lilja Ragnarsdóttir 2024).
However, the blizzard did complicate the transport of results from polling stations in eastern Iceland. A Coast Guard helicopter was needed to deliver election materials from Höfn, and rescue teams took part in transportation from Djúpivogur and Seyðisfjörður (Hannesdóttir 2024; Gunnarsson 2024).
Results from northern and eastern regions saw a delay in tallying following the blizzard, as the ballot boxes were delivered to the counting stations on roads affected by the heavy snowfall (Ólafsson, Á. 2024b; Baha 2024).
Bibliography
Baha, C. ‘Iceland's Social Democrats lead as storm delays count’, Breaking The News, 1 December 2024, <https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iceland%27s-Social-Democrats-lead-as-storm-delays-count/63158853>, accessed 12 October 2025
Gunnarsson, G., ‘Atkvæði Austfirðinga farin í loftið – Myndir’ [The votes of the people of East Iceland have been aired - Photos], Austur Frétt, 1 December 2024,<https://austurfrett.is/frettir/atkvaedhi-austfirdhinga-farin-i-loftidh>, accessed 12 October 2025
Hannesdóttir, B., ‘Þyrlan sækir kjörgögn á Höfn’ [The helicopter picks up election documents in Höfn], Morgunbladid, 1 December 2024,<https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2024/12/01/thyrlan_saekir_kjorgogn_a_hofn/>, accessed 12 October 2025
Lilja Ragnarsdóttir, S., ‘Nýta allan mannskap og tæki á Austurlandi’ [Utilizing all staff and equipment in East Iceland], Morgunbladid, 30 November 2024, <https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2024/11/30/nyta_allan_mannskap_og_taeki_a_austurlandi/>, accessed 12 October 2025
Ólafsson, Á., ‘Kosningarnar ganga betur fyrir austan og norðan en búist var við’ [Elections are going better in the east and north than expected], RÚV, 30 November 2024a,<https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2024-11-30-kosningarnar-ganga-betur-fyrir-austan-og-nordan-en-buist-var-vid-429398 >, accessed 12 October 2025
—, ‘Kjörfundum lýkur á tilsettum tíma og kjörgögnum komið til skila um allt land’ [Polling ends on time and election documents are delivered throughout the country], RÚV, 30 November 2024b, <https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2024-11-30-kjorfundum-lykur-a-tilsettum-tima-og-kjorgognum-komid-til-skila-um-allt-land-429462>, accessed 12 October 2025
Tómas, R., ‘North and East Iceland Face Storms on Election Day’, Icelandic Review, 27 November 2024, <https://www.icelandreview.com/news/north-and-east-iceland-face-storms-on-election-day/>, accessed 12 October 2025
Zubenko, I., ‘National Electoral Commission Meets Over Blizzard Forecast for Election Day’, Reykjavik Grapevine, 26 November 2024, <https://grapevine.is/news/2024/11/26/national-electoral-commission-meets-over-blizzard-forecast-for-election-day/>, accessed 12 October 2025
Winter Weather
