Electoral Districts and the Right to Vote

A Royal Decree, issued by King Christian VIII of Denmark on 8 March 1843, declared that Iceland should have its own consultative assembly, which was to be known as the Althingi. It was to be composed of 20 popularly elected representatives, one of them representing the town of Reykjavík, and one from each of the Icelandic counties or administrative districts. The King reserved himself the right to appoint, depending upon the circumstances, up to six officials, two clerical and four secular, to sit in the Althingi. These representatives were to serve a six-year term of office.

The electoral districts of the popularly elected members of the assembly were as follows: 1. Gullbringu- and Kjósarsýsla counties 2. Reykjavík 3. Borgarfjarðarsýsla county 4. Mýrasýsla (including Hnappadalssýsla until 1871, when it was transferred to Snæfellsnessýsla) 5. Snæfellsnessýsla 6. Dalasýsla 7. Barðastrandarsýsla 8. Ísafjarðarsýsla 9. Strandasýsla 10. Húnavatnssýsla 11. Skagafjarðarsýsla 12. Eyjafjarðarsýsla 13. Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla 14. Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla 15. Norður-Múlasýsla 16. Suður-Múlasýsla 17. Skaftafellssýsla 18. Vestmannaeyjasýsla 19. Rangárvallasýsla 20. Árnessýsla.

The right to vote was restricted to men owning land valued at a minimum of 10 hundreds (about half the size of an average farm), or a house of timber or stone in Reykjavík or other trading station valued at a minimum of 1000 ríkisdalir (almost £1200), or who held lifetime rental rights to land of at least 20 hundreds in value. These men had to be at least 25 years of age and have an unblemished record.

Eligibility for election was subject to the same conditions as the right to vote, with the exception that candidates had to be at least 30 years of age.

It was anticipated that assembly members would be 26 in number, with an equal number of alternates. As it turned out, however, they were one fewer, since no person in Vestmannaeyjasýsla proved to be eligible for election under the law. This remained the case until 1857, when the conditions were relaxed to include a larger number of people.

Elections to the National Assembly of 1851 were held in accordance with special legislation. Two representatives were elected from each district under provisions granting more extensive voting rights and eligibility.

In 1857 the county of Skaftafellssýsla was divided into two electoral districts, with the result that the members of the Althingi were 27 in number 1859-1873.

The Icelandic Constitution of 1874 increased the number of members to 36. The assembly was divided into an upper house, with 12 members, including all of the Royal appointees and an equal number of popularly elected members, and a lower house comprised of 24 members. There were no alternates. The additional nine popularly elected members were obtained by changing nine of the single-member constituencies to become double-member constituencies. These were the counties of Gullbringu- and Kjósarsýsla, Ísafjarðarsýsla, Húnavatnssýsla, Skagafjarðarsýsla, Eyjafjarðarsýsla, Norður-Múlasýsla, Suður-Múlasýsla, Rangárvallasýsla and Árnessýsla. The two counties in Þingeyjarsýsla and two in Skaftafellssýsla were combined to form two double-member constituencies, only to be separated once more into single-member constituencies in 1877.

In 1902 the county Ísafjarðarsýsla was split into two constituencies: Vestur- and Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla.

In 1903 the number of popularly elected members was increased by an additional four. Reykjavík became a double-member district and three new constituencies were added: the towns of Ísafjörður, Akureyri and Seyðisfjörður, with one member each. Voting rights were extended. Men, who were not formally servants of other men, were granted the right to vote if they paid at least four krónur in means tax. Eligibility for election was lowered to age 25.

In 1915 royal appointment of assembly members was ended, and in their stead came six members representing the entire country, together with six alternates, elected by proportional representation from lists of candidates proposed by the respective parties. The minimum voting age and age of eligibility for these elections was 35 years. These members were elected for a 12 year term, but three of them, drawn by lot, were to conclude their term after six years, and an additional three be elected at that time, and subsequently three members at six-year intervals. In 1920 the term of office was shortened to eight years.

The franchise was substantially expanded in 1915. Women were now entitled to vote, if they, like the men, had reached the age of 25 years and did not owe repayable poor relief. The new voters, however, were not granted voting rights immediately, but instead this was limited to those 40 years of age or older, after which the age limit was to be reduced by one year annually. These restrictions were eventually cancelled in 1920.

In 1920 the term of office of the popularly elected members was reduced from six to four years. The number of members from Reykjavík was doubled, from two to four, who were to be elected by proportional representation.

In 1922 the county of Húnavatnssýsla was divided into two constituencies and in 1928 the town of Hafnarfjörður became a separate district, apart from the district of Gullbringu- and Kjósarsýsla, each electing one member. This arrangement was implemented for the first time in the subsequent election to the Althingi in 1931.

In 1934 the election of national members was ended and district representatives increased in number from 36 to 38, the two additional members coming from Reykjavík. Additional 11 seats were to be allocated for purposes of equalisation to the various parties, in order to make the number of their parliamentarians from each party reflect as closely as possible the actual proportion of the popular vote it received. These positions were filled with candidates who had not been elected in their own constituencies, according to specific rules, and they were referred to as nationally elected. This brought the total number of members of the Althingi to 49. Voting age was lowered to 21 years and owing repayment of poor relief no longer deprived people of the right to vote.

An additional three members were added in 1942, two of them from Reykjavík, bringing the total number of members from the capital to eight, and one from Siglufjörður, which now became a separate constituency. This brought the total number of members to 52.

In addition to Reykjavík, which had had proportional representation since 1920 and elected alternates since 1934, proportional representation and elected alternates were introduced in all the double-member constituencies.

This arrangement of electoral districts and number of Althingi members would remain unchanged until 1959, when the era of single-member constituencies came to an end. These members, a total of 21 in number, had no alternates, while there were alternates for the eight members from Reykjavík, the 12 members from double-member constituencies and the 11 nationally elected members, a total of 31 in number. The individual member constituencies were: Gullbringu- and Kjósarsýsla, Hafnarfjörður, Borgarfjarðarsýsla, Mýrasýsla, Snæfellsnessýsla, Dalasýsla, Barðastrandarsýsla, Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla, Ísafjörður, Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla, Strandasýsla, Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla, Austur-Húnavatnssýsla, Siglufjörður, Akureyri, Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Seyðisfjörður, Austur-Skaftafellssýsla, Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla and Vestmannaeyjar.

The double-member constituencies were Skagafjarðarsýsla, Eyjafjarðarsýsla, Norður-Múlasýsla, Suður-Múlasýsla, Rangárvallasýsla and Árnessýsla.

In 1959 the electoral districts were completely reorganised. The number of members of the Althingi was increased to 60 and the country divided into eight constituencies. Five districts, Vesturland, Vestfirðir, Norðurland vestra, Austurland and Reykjanes, were to elect five constituency members each, by proportional representation, for a total of 25 members. Another 12 were to be elected by proportional representation in two six-member constituencies, Norðurland eystra and Suðurland. Reykjavík elected 12 members also by proportion of vote. An additional 11 members were to be elected nationally on the basis of the total vote proportions of each party to bring the number of members as closely as possible in line with the actual voting support for each.

Alternates were as many as were listed on each party's list of candidates.

In 1968 the voting age was lowered from 21 to 20 years.

In 1984 the Constitution and the Election Act were altered once more, and the Act amended yet again in 1987. The number of parliamentarians was increased to 63 and election of national members in the manner which had been practiced since 1934 brought to an end. The eight constituencies were maintained, with a minimum number of members from each of them enshrined in the Constitution, but the Election Act was to provide for the division of the remaining seats between constituencies. The minimum number of seats in six constituencies remained the same as in 1959, while Reykjavík elected 14 members instead of eight and Reykjanes eight instead of five. This accounted for 54 of the 63 seats. At least eight seats were to be allotted to various constituencies prior to the elections in accordance with provisions of the Election Act. The allocation of these seats was to ensure as far as possible that each political party have a number of parliamentary representatives reflecting as closely as possible its total share of the vote.

Amendments to the Election Act in February 1995 provided for the allocation of all nine seats prior to the elections. Five fell to Reykjavík and four to Reykjanes.

In the Constitution (1984) and Election Act (1984 and 1991) the provisions on voting rights and eligibility for election were changed. All Icelandic citizens 18 years of age and older as of election day and who were legally domiciled in the country, or had been so at any time during the last eight years as of 1 December preceding the elections, were entitled to vote. Every citizen entitled to vote who has an unblemished record was also entitled to stand for election, with the exception of judges of the Supreme Court, the President of Iceland and the Althingi Ombudsman.

In accordance with changes made to the Constitution in 1999, providing for a minimum of six and a maximum of seven constituencies, the Election Act was amended in 2000 to provide for these changes. Constituency boundaries are determined by the Act, with the exception of Reykjavík, which is divided into two constituencies; here the boundaries are determined by the national election administration. Changes made to constituency boundaries are to reflect population changes within the districts themselves.

The number of seats in the Icelandic Althingi is divided between six constituencies:
Norðvesturkjördæmi (North West Constituency) 9 seats
Norðausturkjördæmi (North East Constituency) 10 seats
Suðurkjördæmi (South Constituency) 10 seats
Suðvesturkjördæmi (South West Constituency) 12 seats
Reykjavíkurkjördæmi suður (Reykjavík South) 11 seats
Reykjavíkurkjördæmi norður (Reykjavík North) 11 seats

Votes are counted in each of six constituencies separately. Only parties which have received at least 5% of the national vote may, however, be awarded an equalisation seat.

Changes to the constituency boundaries and the manner of allocating seats as prescribed by law can only be made with the consent of two-thirds of the voting members of the Althingi.

1845   26
1859   27
1875   36
1905   40
1921   42
1934   49
1942   52
1959   60
1987   63

The table shows the number of seats in the Althingi from 1845 to 1995 in accordance with Royal Decree and later the Constitution. During the years 1845-1857, however, there were in actuality only 25 members and not 26. The dates shown represent the first assembly having the increased number of members.