By tradition, Icelandic presidential elections are uncontested when the incumbent president indicates a wish to obtain a new mandate. The current president, lafur Ragnar Grmsson, was elected in 1996 with 40.9% of the vote, in an election with an 85.9% turnout contested by four candidates. In 2000 he was re-elected unopposed. When the President announced his intention to seek another mandate in 2004, two other candidates emerged:
str Magnsson, a businessman and militant pacifist, who won 2.6% of the vote in the 1996 election and failed to obtain the necessary 1,500 supporters when he attempted to stand in the 2000 election, and
Baldur gstsson, who was unknown to the general public.
Icelandic presidential elections are not fought on a political basis; instead, candidates attempt to use their personalities to attract supporters and appear as a living symbol of national unity.
The presidency is an almost entirely powerless office, as by tradition the presidents do not use the powers granted to them by the Constitution, instead just exercising moral authority, although President Grmsson has expressed a wish to have a public discussion on the role of the Head of State. Unprecedentedly in the history of the Icelandic Republic, on 2 June2004 President Grmsson vetoed a media ownership law passed by the Althing, although Dav Oddsson, who was Prime Minister at the time, claimed that the veto was illegal because the President's daughter worked for one of the affected companies. There was little doubt that President Grmsson would be re-elected, but it was interesting to observe what effect the veto controversy had on the voting.
Final results
Final results show President lafur re-elected with 86% of valid votes:
NATIONAL SUMMARY ============================================================================= Candidate Votes % ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- str Magnsson Wium 2.001 1.5% Baldur gstsson 13.250 9.9% lafur Ragnar Grmsson 90.662 67.5% Empty ballots 27.627 20.6% Void votes 834 0.6% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 134.374 votes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- All three candidates stood as independents. These are the final figures.
External links and references
Official presidential election results (http://www3.domsmalaraduneyti.is/forsetakosningar) (in Icelandic)
A presidentialelection was held in Iceland on Saturday, 26 June2004.
Traditionally, Icelandicpresidentialelections in which the incumbent president indicates a wish to obtain a new mandate are uncontested.
Unlike parliamentary elections in Iceland, presidentialelections are not fought on the basis of party politics; instead, candidates attempt to use their personalities to attract supporters and appear as a living symbol of national unity.
The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and head of state.
Traditionally limited to 6-12 weeks, Iceland's campaign season was marked by several intensely personal attacks on Grímsson, a former finance minister who tried to erase memories of his controversial support of inflationary policies and opposition to the U.S. military presence at the NATO base in Keflavík.
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