Iceland has chosen a new president. The winner herself is quite surprised by the result.
After a long and exciting election night, it is clear: Iceland will have a woman as president for the second time in history. The entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir received 34.3 percent of the vote, beating all eleven other competitors – more than ever before, as the Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported.
“My heart is warm,” said Tómasdóttir after her election victory. It was a surprise for her. “You don't expect anything when you go on a trip like this, but of course you hope for the best.” She is very grateful to the nation for the trust it has placed in her.
She also left her top competitor Katrín Jakobsdóttir behind with 25.2 percent. The race for the presidency between the two favorites remained exciting until the end. Jakobsdóttir finally admitted her defeat and congratulated Tómasdóttir on his election victory. “I congratulate her and I know that she will be a good president,” said Jakobsdóttir. She herself does not want to run in another presidential election. Jakobsdóttir surprisingly gave up her post as prime minister in April to run for the presidential election.
Tómasdóttir's family was also tense: “We are so proud of her,” her daughter told broadcaster RUV on election night. “It's so much fun to be involved in this kind of fight and to get young people to vote.” The overall voter turnout was almost 79 percent, the highest in a presidential election since 1996. Almost 270,000 Icelanders were eligible to vote.
It was her second attempt: Tómasdóttir had already run for the presidency in 2016 and lost the race for the presidency to Gudni Jóhannesson, who then held the office for eight years. The 55-year-old will succeed him on August 1. Jóhannesson, also 55, announced in his New Year's address that he would not run for a third term.
The role of the president in Iceland is largely representative. The country is not part of the European Union, but, like Norway and Liechtenstein, it is part of the European Economic Area. The island, which has a population of around 380,000, holds presidential elections every four years if there is more than one candidate.
