Presidential Election, 1 June 2024

On 1 June 2024, Iceland held presidential elections won by Halla Tomasdottir. A parliamentary republic, Iceland’s presidential elections take place every four years; there is no limit on on the number of four-year terms a president may serve. The president exercises both executive and legislative powers and is largely ceremonial, while the 63-member unicameral parliament may only exercise legislative power and the prime minister may only exercise executive power (OSCE 2024). 

The presidential elections winner is determined by a direct election system. The candidate who receives the most valid votes in a single round election becomes president. The election management body in Iceland is the National Election Commission (NEC) which oversees the electoral process (OSCE 2024) and is made up of five main staff members including a managing director and several legal advisers (Ísland.is n.d.). The option to cast an early vote eight weeks prior to the election has been withdrawn; voters can vote only once the NEC have announced the presidential candidates (OSCE 2024).

On 24 March, there were reports of technical difficulties with the website íslands.is—the unitary hub for Iceland’s public services—where both candidates and voters register. By 24 March, there were 80 candidates signed up for to run for the 2024 presidential election; a month later 40 candidates had removed their submissions – at least six of whom did not know they entered (Bjarkason 2024). 

The day before polling, on 31 May 2024, the Sundhnukur volcanic crater erupted after being dormant for almost 800 years (Al Jazeera 2024). Located in the southwest of the country, the volcano erupted 45 metre into the air, forcing evacuation of 4,000 residents in Grindavik, a nearby coastal town (Euronews 2024; Al Jazeera 2024). This was the fifth eruption in the region since December 2023. As lava closed in on high-voltage lines and underground water pipes, power in Grindavik was cut off to prevent electrical hazards (Regan and Danaher 2024). 

Tomasdottir’s presidency marks the second time that Iceland has had a female Head of State (Le Monde 2024). Women are well represented in politics some 48 per cent of parliamentary seats and six out of 12 ministerial positions (OSCE 2024).

The voter turnout was 80.78 per cent, a 14 per cent increase from the 2020 when turnout was 66.92 per cent (International IDEA 2024). 

Iceland has made several amendments in the electoral law since the last presidential election, following OSCE-ODIHR (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) recommendations. For example, the National Electoral Commission is newly introduced, as is an electronic voting register. However, the voting register was not used for this election due to technical challenges. Voter information is inclusive for people with disabilities, whereby authorities provide it in audio and easy-to-read formats. The Media Commission initiated campaigns relating to media literacy on social media platforms (OSCE 2024).