At Stake in this Election: 

• The Presidency of Iceland

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Guðni Thorlacius JÓHANNESON (since 1 August 2016) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Bjarni BENEDIKTSSON (since 9 April 2024) 

• Assembly: unicameral Parliament (Alþingi) with 63 seats

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by simple majority vote and may serve unlimited 4-year terms. 

• The parliamentary majority leader is appointed Prime Minister following legislative elections. 

•  In Parliament, all 63 members are directly elected via closed-list proportional representation vote. All members serve 4-year terms, and there are no term limits.

Last Election: 

In the 2020 presidential election, Guðni JÓHANNESON won with 92.2% of the vote, defeating Sturla JÓNSSON. Voter turnout was 66.93%.

Information for Voters: 

Fyrir kjósendur / For voters (in Icelandic and English)

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 26 April 2024 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A; voter registration is passive and the voter roll is updated by 24 April 2024.

Main Candidates in this Election: 

• Arnar Þór JÓNSSON 

• Ásdís Rán GUNNARSDÓTTIR 

• Ástthór MAGNÚSSON WIUM 

• Baldur ÞÓRHALLSSON 

• Eiríkur Ingi JÓHANNSSON 

• Halla Hrund LOGADÓTTIR 

• Halla TÓMASDÓTTIR 

• Helga ÞÓRISDÓTTIR 

• Jón GNARR 

• Katrín JAKOBSDÓTTIR 

• Steinunn Ólína ÞORSTEINSDÓTTIR 

• Viktor TRAUSTASON 

All presidential candidates run as independents.

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 382,000 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 276,593 (2022)

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 186,200 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 24 July 1980, Ratified 18 June 1985 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 30 out of 63 (47.6%) in Parliament 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.959, Very High, Rank 3 (2022) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Not available

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 23 September 2016 

• Projected population with a disability: 61,120 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Iceland: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements:  Yes, 5 judgments and 12 resources