Chamber:
	Althingi
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	20 April 1991
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members’ term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In September 1988, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Progressive Party (PP) withdrew from the governing coalition that had been formed after the April 1987 general elections, following disagreements over economic policy. This alliance also included the largest political group in the Althingi, the Independence Party (IP), headed by Prime Minister T. Palsson. The latter was succeeded by PP leader S. Hermannsson, who joined forces in a centre-left coalition with the SDP and the People’s Alliance (PA). The new Government introduced economic austerity measures, designed to lower inflation and help the country’s fishing industry. In September 1989, a larger coalition embracing two more parties was formed. The 1991 election campaign debate focused on how to stimulate economic growth and on Iceland’s trade relationship with the European Communities. Running counter to pre-election polls and predictions, the electorate opted for a status quo situation as regards the outgoing coalition while the conservative, pro-EC IP retained its standing as leading party by recovering the votes it had lost to the liberal Citizens’ Party (CP) in 1987. In this context, Prime Minister Hermannsson resigned on 23 April and a new, centre-right IP-SDP coalition, having a total of 36 parliamentary seats, was formed. Mr. David Oddson (IP) became Prime Minister and a new Cabinet was sworn in on 30 April.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (20 April 1991): Elections results
Number of registered electors	182,980
Voters	160,149 (87.52%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	2,403
Valid votes	157,746

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
Independence Party (IP)	60,826	38.6
Progressive Party (PP)	29,861	18.9
Social Democratic Party (SDP)	24,454	15.5
People’s Alliance (PA)	22,705	14.4
Women’s Alliance	13,068	8.3
Citizen’s Party (CP)	1,927	1.2
Others	4,905	3.1

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Independence Party (IP)	26	+8
Progressive Party (PP)	13	=
Social Democratic Party (SDP)	10	=
People’s Alliance (PA)	9	+1
Women’s Alliance	5	-1
Citizen’s Party (CP)	0	-7
Others	0	-1

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	48
Women:	15

Distribution of seats according to age:
30-39 years	15
40-49 years	26
50-59 years	16
60-69 years	6