Icelandic parliamentary election, 1908
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Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 10 September 1908, alongside a referendum on prohibition.[1]
Contents
1 Background
2 Electoral system
3 Results
4 References
Background
The Althing was dissolved by King Frederick VIII in the early spring in order to elect a new parliament that would vote on a draft status law that would define the position of Iceland in the Danish realm.[2] The election campaign was one of the acrimonious in Icelandic political history due to the controversial nature of the draft.[2] The opposition was led by Skúli Thoroddsen, a member of the Independence Party.[3]
Electoral system
The 36 members of the Althing were elected from a mix of single-member and two-member constituencies.[4] The elections were the first to take place since changes to the electoral system in 1904; they were the first to be held using the secret ballot,[5] and also saw the three-round majoritarian system replaced by plurality voting as multiple rounds of voting on the same day were no longer possible.[4] The tax qualification for voting was also reduced, increasing the proportion of people able to vote to around 14% of the population,[4] up from 7,786 in 1903 to 11,726.[6]
Results
Candidates opposed to the draft law won a landslide majority, whilst voter turnout was 72.4%, nearly 20% more than the 1903 elections.[6] As a result, the law was voted down in 1909,[2] resulting in the resignation of Minister for Iceland Hannes Hafstein.[3]
References
^ Sverrir Jakobsson & Gudmundur Halfdanarson (2016) Historical Dictionary of Iceland, Rowman & Littlefield, pxxiv
^ abc Jakobsson & Halfdanarson, p54
^ ab Jakobsson & Halfdanarson, p223
^ abc Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, pp953–954 .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
^ Lester B. Orfield (1953) The Growth of Scandinavian Law, The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., p109
^ ab Nohlen & Stöver, p963
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