2024 Icelandic presidential election

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2024 Icelandic presidential election

← 2020 1 June 2024 2028 →
Turnout80.78%
 
Halla Tómasdóttir.jpg
HallaHrund2024-11649.jpg
Candidate Halla Tómasdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir Halla Hrund Logadóttir
Popular vote 73,182 53,980 33,601
Percentage 34.15% 25.19% 15.68%
 
Candidate Jón Gnarr Baldur Þórhallsson Arnar Þór Jónsson [is]
Popular vote 21,634 18,030 10,811
Percentage 10.09% 8.41% 5.08%

President before election

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

Elected President

Halla Tómasdóttir

Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 1 June 2024.[1][2] Incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson announced that he would not seek a third term.[1] Halla Tómasdóttir was elected as his successor[3] and will take office on 1 August.[4]

Background[edit]

The previous presidential elections on 27 June 2020 saw incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson re-elected for a second four-year term with 92% of the vote, over Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson.[5] The office of President is not term-limited; however, despite being eligible to serve a third term, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people on 1 January 2024 that he would not stand for re-election again.[6]

Electoral system[edit]

The President of Iceland is directly elected by first-past-the-post voting, with a simple plurality of votes needed to win.[7] Candidates must be Icelandic citizens and at least 35 years of age on election day.[8]

On election day, polling opened at 09:00 and ran until 22:00.[9]

Candidates[edit]

Prospective presidential candidates had until 26 April 2024 to collect more than 1,500 voter signatures to secure ballot access.[10] Eighty candidates sought voter signatures by that date. The following individuals have received media attention for their potential candidacy for the position of president. On 29 April 2024, the National Electoral Commission announced which candidates had secured ballot access.

Confirmed candidates[edit]

Below is a list of verified candidates.

Candidate Office(s) Campaign logo Details
Name
(Age)
Image
Arnar Þór Jónsson [is]
(53)
Former Deputy MP for the Independence Party
(2021–2024)
Arnar Þór is a lawyer and former judge who holds the right to speak before the Supreme Court of Iceland. He resigned his seat in the Althing and his membership with the Independence Party to run for President.[11]
Ásdís Rán Gunnarsdóttir
(44)
Ásdís Rán Gunnarsdóttir None
Ásdís Rán is a model and entrepreneur. She worked as a television producer in the 1990s.[12]
Ástþór Magnússon
(70)
Ástþór Magnússon None Ástþór is a businessman, activist, and perennial candidate, having run for President of Iceland in 1996, 2004, 2012, and 2016 — he had planned to run in 2000, but failed to get the necessary qualifying signatures. He is known for his Pro-Russian views.[13][14]
Baldur Þórhallsson
(56)
Baldur Þórhallsson Former Deputy MP for the Social Democratic Alliance
(2009–2013)
Baldur is a political science professor at the University of Iceland. He was previously a deputy member of the Althing for the Social Democratic Alliance.[15]
Eiríkur Ingi Jóhannsson [is]
(47)
Eiríkur Ingi Jóhannsson None Eiríkur Ingi is a fisherman who survived a sea disaster in 2012.[16]
Halla Hrund Logadóttir
(43)
Halla Hrund Logadóttir Director of Energy Affairs at Orkustofnun [is]
(since 2021)
Logo of Halla Hrund Logadóttir Halla Hrund is the Director of Energy Affairs at the Icelandic Energy Agency, and is the first woman to hold the position. She is also an adjunct professor at Harvard University in the United States.[17]
Halla Tómasdóttir
(55)
Halla Tómasdóttir None
Logo of Halla Tómasdóttir Halla is a businessperson who has been CEO of The B Team since 2018. She finished as runner-up to Guðni Th. Jóhannesson in the 2016 presidential election.[18]
Helga Þórisdóttir [is]
(55)
Data Protection Commissioner Helga is the current Data Protection Commissioner and a former prosecutor.[19]
Jón Gnarr
(57)
Jón Gnarr 20th Mayor of Reykjavík (2010–2014)
Other offices
Logo of Jón Gnarr Gnarr is an actor and comedian who served one term as Mayor of Reykjavík for the Best Party, where his election and tenure in office made international headlines. He joined the Social Democratic Alliance in 2017.[20]
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
(48)
Katrín Jakobsdóttir 28th Prime Minister of Iceland
(2017–2024)
Other offices
Logo of Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín is the former Prime Minister of Iceland, the first member of the Left-Green Movement to hold that position, overseeing a coalition government including her party, the Independence Party, and the Progressive Party. She was a member of the Althing from 2007 to 2024, and was chair of her party from 2013 to 2024. She resigned as chair of the Left-Green Movement, as a member of the Althing, and as Prime Minister to run for President.[21][22]
Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir
(54)
Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir None Steinunn Ólína is an actress, TV show host, producer and writer.[23][24]
Viktor Traustason [is]
(35)
Viktor Traustason None Viktor is an economist. His endorsement list was initially declared invalid, but later corrected and confirmed on 2 May.[25]

Withdrew or failed to get ballot access[edit]

These candidates failed to collect enough signatures before the deadline expired.

  • Agnieszka Sokolowska, project manager at the Capital Region Fire Service.[26]
  • Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings, artist-researcher, on behalf of "Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta", a geocultural intervention to nominate the non-human candidate Snæfellsjökull.[27]
  • Axel Pétur Axelsson, conspiracy theorist[28]
  • Guðbergur Guðbergsson, real estate agent and former stunt man[29]
  • Guðmundur Felix Grétarsson, former electrician and the world's first double-arm and shoulder transplant receiver[30]
  • Húni Húnfjörð, business administrator, teacher and former basketball player[31]
  • Kári Vilmundarson Hansen, disc jockey. Endorsement list declared invalid on 29 April.[32]
  • Margrét Friðriksdóttir, editor. Withdrew on 28 March after seeking voter signatures for five days.[33]
  • Sigríður Hrund Pétursdóttir, investor. Declared on 12 January and Withdrew on 26 April.[34]
  • Tómas Logi Hallgrímsson, rescue worker. Declared on 5 January and withdrew on 20 March (endorsed Baldur Þórhallsson)[35][36]

Declined[edit]

Campaign issues[edit]

Presidential debates have featured Iceland's membership in NATO, military aid for Ukraine, the possible sale of the state energy firm Landsvirkjun and the use of veto powers by the Presidency. Questions were also raised on whether Katrín Jakobsdóttir's background as a politician and prime minister would affect her tenure in office, to which she said that she "can rise above party politics".[10] Halla Tomasdottir ran her campaign on issues such as the effects of social media on the mental health of youth, tourism development and the role of artificial intelligence.[55]

Opinion polls[edit]

Local regression of the main candidates before the 2024 election.
Polling firm Fieldwork
date
Arnar Þór
Jónsson
Ásdís Rán
Gunnarsdóttir
Ástþór
Magnússon
Baldur
Þórhallsson
Eiríkur Ingi
Jóhannsson
Halla Hrund
Logadóttir
Halla
Tómasdóttir
Helga
Þórisdóttir
Jón Gnarr Katrín
Jakobsdóttir
Steinunn Ólína
Þorsteinsdóttir
Viktor
Traustason
Others/
Undecided
Gallup 24–31 May 2024 6.2 0.2 0.4 14.6 0.1 19.0 23.9 0.1 8.4 25.6 0.9 0.5
Prósent 27–30 May 2024 6.1 0.5 0.1 14.6 22.0 23.5 0.4 9.0 22.2 1.1 0.5
Maskína 27–30 May 2024 5.0 0.4 0.4 15.4 0.1 18.4 24.1 0.3 9.9 24.1 1.5 0.6
Háskóli Íslands 22–30 May 2024 7.1 0.8 0.4 16.1 0.2 18.4 18.5 0.2 9.9 26.3 1.5 0.6
Prósent 21–26 May 2024 6.4 0.6 0.3 16.9 0.1 21.0 20.2 0.7 11.4 20.1 1.5 0.8
Gallup 17–23 May 2024 7 18 19 17 9 27 1 2
Maskína 22–23 May 2024 5.4 0.3 0.6 18.2 0.1 16.6 18.6 0.5 12.4 25.7 0.9 0.7
Prósent 14–19 May 2024 6.0 0.9 1.0 18.2 0.1 19.7 16.2 0.2 13.4 22.1 1.3 1.0
Gallup 10–16 May 2024 6 19 21 15 11 23 1 4
Maskína 13–16 May 2024 5.2 0.4 0.7 16.2 0.1 21.8 14.9 0.2 12.6 26.1 1.1 0.7
Prósent 7–12 May 2024 5.7 0.4 0.7 17.9 0.1 26.0 12.5 0.5 13.8 19.2 1.8 1.5
Gallup 3–9 May 2024 6 18 25 11 10 25 1 2 1
Maskína 30 Apr–8 May 2024 4.2 1.2 0.4 18.9 0.1 29.7 5.4 0.8 11.2 26.7 1.2 0.6
EMC 2–8 May 2024 4.5 0.6 0.3 21.8 0.3 29.1 4.1 0.3 13.0 22.9 1.1 2.0
Prósent 30 Apr–5 May 2024 4.3 1.0 1.1 20.4 0.2 29.7 5.1 0.3 14.7 21.3 1.9
Maskína 22 Apr–3 May 2024 4.2 1.5 0.3 19.9 0.1 29.4 3.7 0.4 12.9 26.8 0.9
Gallup 26 Apr–2 May 2024 3 19 36 4 10 23 2 2
Háskóli Íslands 22–30 Apr 2024 4.1 0.5 0.9 23.6 0.1 27.6 4.5 0.2 7.4 29.9 1.3
Prósent 23–28 Apr 2024 2.7 1.9 0.5 25.0 28.5 3.9 0.2 16.0 18.0 2.3
Maskína 22–26 Apr 2024 3.3 1.5 0.5 21.2 26.2 4.1 0.2 15.2 25.4 1.2 0.6
Gallup 17–22 Apr 2024 3 28 16 4 15 31 1 1
Prósent 16–21 Apr 2024 2.8 1.1 1.1 27.2 18.0 5.8 0.1 17.2 23.8 2.1 0.9
Maskína 12–16 Apr 2024 3.8 1.3 0.9 24.0 10.5 6.7 18.9 31.4 1.8 0.6
Prósent 9–14 Apr 2024 2.9 0.8 0.4 25.8 10.6 4.3 0.4 16.8 22.1 2.9 10.5
Gallup 5–11 Apr 2024 4 2 1 26 4 7 18 30 2 6
Maskína 5–8 Apr 2024 3.2 0.6 26.7 5.7 7.3 0.4 19.6 32.9 1.9 1.7
Prósent 20–27 Mar 2024 5 4 2 37 15 38

Results[edit]

CandidateVotes%
Halla Tómasdóttir73,18234.15
Katrín Jakobsdóttir53,98025.19
Halla Hrund Logadóttir33,60115.68
Jón Gnarr21,63410.09
Baldur Þórhallsson18,0308.41
Arnar Þór Jónsson [is]10,8815.08
Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir1,3830.65
Ástþór Magnússon4650.22
Viktor Traustason [is]3920.18
Ásdís Rán Gunnarsdóttir3940.18
Helga Þórisdóttir [is]2750.13
Eiríkur Ingi Jóhannsson [is]1010.05
Total214,318100.00
Valid votes214,31899.39
Invalid votes5140.24
Blank votes8030.37
Total votes215,635100.00
Registered voters/turnout266,93580.78
Source: National Electoral Commission[56]

Reactions[edit]

After her victory was confirmed, Halla Tómasdóttir was congratulated by former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.[3]

References[edit]

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