The National Electoral Commission

The National Electoral Commission is elected by the Althing following each general election, and consists of five members and the same number of alternates. Participation in an electoral commission is a civic duty.

Under certain circumstances a member of the commission may have to stand down, e.g. if he is standing for election to the Althing or if a case involving his spouse or relative is awaiting judgement by a court. The National Electoral Commission shall, like other electoral commissions, keep a minutes book and record the business it transacts and decisions it takes.

See also the website of the National Electoral Commission, www.landskjor.is/english. A description of the election system in Iceland and an analysis of the Parliament elections in 2003 and 2007 can be found on the website.

The duties of the National Electoral Commission include the following.

Constituencies

Determination of constituency boundaries in Reykjavík
When the National Electoral Commission determines the boundary between the northern and southern constituencies in Reykjavík, it shall aim at having approximately the same number of voters for each parliamentary seat in each of the constituencies, including the weighting seats, and it shall base this on the Voters' Register five weeks before Election Day. In addition, care shall be taken to ensure that the constituencies form, as far as possible, continuous entities.

The National Electoral Commission shall publicise the constituency boundary in the Law and Ministerial Gazette at least four weeks before Election Day.

Changes in the numbers of seats in constituencies

The National Electoral Commission may change the number of constituency seats in electoral constituencies if the number of voters on the Voters' Register for each parliamentary seat, including the weighting seats in one constituency is half what it is in any other constituency, based on the Voters' Register in the foregoing elections. However, this authorisation of the National Electoral Commission applies only to those constituency seats that are in excess of the constitutionally-guaranteed minimum, which is six constituency seats in each constituency.

Registers of Electors

Determination of constituency boundaries applying to Icelandic citizens resident abroad and those who do not have a fixed address.
Icelandic citizens who are resident abroad and are on the Voters' Register, and who at the time of their last registration in Iceland were domiciled in Reykjavík, shall be regarded as being in Reykjavík South if they were born in the first half of the month shall be registered in Reykjavík North if they were born in the second half of the month. The same rule shall apply to those who are registered as having no fixed address in Reykjavík.

Rulings on candidacy and announcements
The National Electoral Commission has the power of adjudication in the following cases:

1. If it is not clear what political organisation a list of candidates pertains, the National Electoral Commission shall examine the matter and deliver a ruling. It shall give the sponsors of lists the opportunity of nominating special agents to defend their interests when disputes are resolved. The Commission shall also ensure that lists of candidates which belong together are marked by the same letter in all constituencies.
2. If a regional electoral committee disqualifies a list of candidates, the list's agent may refer the matter to the National Electoral Commission for adjudication within 24 hours of the delivery of the ruling of disqualification.
   

Election results in each constituency

Allocation of parliamentary seats
When the National Electoral Commission receives the reports by the regional Commission on the numbers of votes cast in each individual constituency, it shall meet to allocate parliamentary seats, i.e. both constituency seats and weighting seats. It shall announce, at suitable notice, where and when it intends to meet for this purpose so as to enable representatives of the political organisations that have put forward candidates to be present.

The following rules shall be applied when constituency seats are allocated:

1. The number of votes cast for each list of candidates is divided by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. The quotients are recorded for each list.
2. The first constituency seat is allocated to the list with the largest quotient. This quotient is then cancelled. The second constituency seat is then allocated to the list that has the next largest quotient. This process is continued until as many seats as were up for election have been allocated; at present, there are nine seats in each constituency.
3. If two or more quotients are equal when these are used according to item 2 above, then the order in which they are used shall be determined by lot.

The following rules shall be used when weighting seats are allocated:

• Firstly, when weighting seats are allocated, only political organisations that have received at least five per cent of valid votes cast for the whole country may be considered.
• To establish how many weighting seats are to be allocated to a political organisation and which of its lists of candidates is to receive a weighting seat, the number of votes cast for the organisation in the country as a whole and the number of constituency seats allocated to it shall be counted.

Then the following rules shall be applied:

1. The number of votes cast for the organisation shall be divided by the number of its constituency seats, first with the addition of 1, then with the addition of 2, then 3, etc. The quotients are referred to as the national numbers of the organisation.
2. A list shall be drawn up of the two seats of each list of candidates that came closest to receiving an allocation in the constituencies. For each of these seats, the proportion of the quotient for the seat (under the allocation rules for constituency seats) of all the valid votes cast in the constituency shall be recorded.
3. The highest national number according to item 1 of this paragraph which has not already been cancelled shall be found. A weighting seat shall be allocated to the political organisation possessing that number; specifically, to its candidate list with the highest proportional index under item 2. The national number and the quotient shall then both be cancelled.
4. If two or more national numbers or proportional indices are equal when they are used under item 3 above, the order in which they are used shall be determined by lot.
5. When weighting seats have been allocated for each constituency the proportional indices for all lists in the constituencies shall be cancelled.
6. If all the proportional indices of a political organisation have been removed, then its national numbers shall also be cancelled.
7. The provisions of item 3 of this paragraph shall be applied as often as necessary until the allocation of all the weighting seats is complete.

The aim of these rules is that the proportions of votes cast for the candidates of political organisations, based on the valid votes cast in the constituencies, be used to determine which of the organisations receives the weighting seat, this being done after assessing which organisations are entitled to such a seat.

Calculation of the number of votes allocated to the candidates that qualify as members, or deputy members, of the Althing.
Only candidates who occupy the uppermost places on each list will be considered as members or deputy members of the Althing for each constituency, i.e. twice as many as were allocated to each list according to the election results, yet never fewer than three. This is known as the ordinal of the list.

In order to find which of these candidates has been elected, the National Electoral Commission calculates the number of votes for the candidates under consideration. A candidate who occupies the 1^st place on an unaltered ballot paper, or who is ranked in that place on an altered ballot paper, receives one vote. The candidate who in the same way is in 2^nd place receives a fraction of a vote as follows: the denominator is the ordinal, while the numerator is that number reduced by 1. The numerator is then reduced by 1 for each successive place.

The candidate who receives the largest number of votes on each list is allocated the 1^st seat for the list. The candidate who receives the next highest number of votes is allocated the 2^nd seat, and so on until the allocation of parliamentary seats, and the seats of deputy members of the Althing, is completed. If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the order in which they are ranked on the list shall be determined by lot.

Issue of election certificates

Issue of election certificates to newly elected members and deputy members of the Althing
When the National Electoral Commission has allocated parliamentary seats, it issues election certificates to the newly-elected members and deputy members of the Althing. When these election certificates have been issued, the National Electoral Commission informs the government ministries of the results of the elections and sends the names of the elected members of the Althing to the Law and Ministerial Gazette for publication.

Disputes between representatives and the National Electoral Commission
In the event of a dispute between these parties concerning a ruling that has been delivered, the representatives of the political organisations have the right to have the dispute recorded in the minutes of the National Electoral Commission. The Commission shall then send a copy of its minutes regarding the allocation of parliamentary seats, and also reports from the regional electoral Commission that may be involved in the dispute, to the Ministry of Justice, which shall present the matter to the Althing at the beginning of its parliamentary session.