South () is one of the six

multi-member An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of the

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

, the national

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Southern constituency was merged with

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Gerðahreppur,

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town in the Southern Peninsula district of Iceland, not far from Þorbjörn, a tuya (a type of flat-topped, steep-sided volcano). It is one of the few towns with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work ...

Reykjanesbær Reykjanesbær () is a municipality on the Southern Peninsula (''Suðurnes'') in Iceland, though the name is also used by locals to refer to the suburban region of Keflavík and Njarðvík which have grown together over the years. The municipality ...

Sandgerði Sandgerði (), also known as Sandgerðisbær (, ), is a town in southwestern Iceland on the Southern Peninsula Southern Peninsula (, ) is an administrative unit and part of Reykjanesskagi (pronounced ), or Reykjanes Peninsula, a region in sout ...

and Vatnsleysustrandarhreppur from the

Reykjanes Reykjanes () is a small headland on the south-western end of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, giving the main peninsula its name. Volcanic action is responsible for forming the entire peninsula. The nearest town is Keflavik. The name, , trans ...

constituency and the municipality of Sveitarfélagið Hornafjörður from the

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

constituency. South consists of the Southern and

Southern Peninsula Southern Peninsula (, ) is an administrative unit and part of Reykjanesskagi (pronounced ), or Reykjanes Peninsula, a region in southwest Iceland. It was named after Reykjanes, the southwestern tip of Reykjanesskagi. The region has a populati ...

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a system of proportional representation based on preregistered Political party, political parties, with each party being Apportionment (politics), allocated a certain number of seats Apportionm ...

electoral system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...

. At the 2024 parliamentary election it had 41,002 registered electors.

History

In September 1997

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Davíð Oddsson Davíð Oddsson (pronounced ; born 17 January 1948) is an Icelandic politician, and the longest-serving prime minister of Iceland, in office from 1991 to 2004. From 2004 to 2005 he served as Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Iceland), foreign minis ...

appointed a committee headed by

Friðrik Klemenz Sophusson Friðrik Sophusson (born 18 October 1943 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic politician and company director. He was the former director of Icelandic state-run energy firm Landsvirkjun. Career Friðrik graduated from the University of Iceland in 197 ...

to review the division of constituencies in Iceland and the organisation of elections. The committee's report was published in October 1998 and recommended, amongst other things, that the number of constituencies be reduced and that they be more equal in population size. The Althing passed an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

in June 1999 which removed the reference to specific eight constituencies contained within Article 31 and instead simply stated that there would be six or seven constituencies and that the Althing would determine the boundaries between the constituencies. The amendment also required that if, following an election to Althing, the number of registered electors per seat (including

compensatory seat Leveling seats (, , , , ), commonly known also as adjustment seats, are an election mechanism employed for many years by all Nordic countries (except Finland) in elections for their national legislatures. Germany also used national leveling seats ...

s) in any constituency is less than half of that in another constituency, the National Electoral Commission shall change the allocation of seats so as to reduce the imbalance. South was one of six constituencies () established by the "Elections to the Althing Act no. 24/2000" () passed by the Althing in May 2000. The Act initially allocated ten seats to the constituency - nine constituency seats and one compensatory seat.

Electoral system

South currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the

. Constituency seats are allocated using the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...

. Compensatory seats (equalisation seas) are calculated based on the national vote and are allocated using the D'Hondt method at the constituency level. Only parties that reach the 5% national

threshold Threshold may refer to: Science Biology * Threshold (reference value) * Absolute threshold * Absolute threshold of hearing * Action potential * Aerobic threshold * Anaerobic threshold * Dark adaptation threshold * Epidemic threshold * Flicke ...

compete for compensatory seats.

Election results

Summary

(Excludes compensatory seats.)

Detailed

2020s

=2024

= Results of the 2024 parliamentary election held on 30 November 2024: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats - Ása Berglind Hjálmarsdóttir (S), 4,136.50 votes;

Ásthildur Lóa Þórsdóttir Ásthildur Lóa Þórsdóttir (born 20 November 1966) is an Icelandic politician. She served as minister of education and children's affairs for four months until she resigned due to a scandal involving a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old ...

(F), 6,339.00 votes; Guðbrandur Einarsson (C), 3,525.00 votes;

Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir (born 9 February 1970) is an Icelandic politician and business leader. With a BA in anthropology and a diploma in Applied Gender Studies, she has held significant roles in her family's company, Kjörís ehf. Since 2021, ...

(D), 6,207.00 votes; Halla Hrund Logadóttir (B), 3,606.00 votes;

Karl Gauti Hjaltason Karl Gauti Hjaltason is an Icelandic politician and former police officer. He was a member of Althing from 2017 to 2021 and has been serving as MP since 2024. Formerly, he was a part of People's Party of Iceland until he was expelled as part of t ...

(M), 4,174.33 votes; Sigurður Helgi Pálmason (F), 4,767.50 votes; Vilhjálmur Árnason (D), 4,677.75 votes; and Víðir Reynisson (S), 5,490.50 votes. * Compensatory seats -

Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson (pronounced �sɪːɣʏrðʏr ˈiŋgɪ ˈjouːhansɔn born 20 April 1962) is an Icelandic politician, who was the prime minister of Iceland from April 2016 to January 2017. He has been the chairman of the Progressive ...

(B), 2,894.50 votes.

=2021

= Results of the 2021 parliamentary election held on 25 September 2021: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

Ásmundur Friðriksson Ásmundur Friðriksson (born 21 January 1956) is an Icelandic politician. He has been a member of Alþingi for the Independence Party since 2013. References External linksBioat Alþingi The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is t ...

(D), 4,770.50 votes;

(F), 3,835.67 votes; Birgir Þórarinsson (M), 2,199.67 votes;

(D), 7,275.33 votes; Hafdís Hrönn Hafsteinsdóttir (B), 4,742.67 votes;

Jóhann Friðrik Friðriksson Jóhann is a masculine given name. It is the Icelandic and Faroese form of the name Johann, a form of the Germanic and Latin given name "Johannes". The English-language form is John. The Icelandic surname Jóhannsson is a patronymic surname meani ...

(B), 5,917.17 votes; Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S), 2,259.33 votes;

(B), 7,096.33 votes; and Vilhjálmur Árnason (D), 6,057.17 votes. * Compensatory seats - Guðbrandur Einarsson (C), 1,835.67 votes.

2010s

=2017

= Results of the 2017 parliamentary election held on 28 October 2017: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

Ari Trausti Guðmundsson Ari Trausti Guðmundsson (born 3 December 1948) is an Icelandic geologist, author, documentarian, broadcaster, journalist, lecturer, mountaineer and explorer. He worked as teacher, consultant and lecturer on: earth science, environmental and tour ...

(V), 3,308.00 votes;

(D), 5,588.00 votes; Birgir Þórarinsson (M), 3,991.33 votes;

(F), 2,497.67 votes; Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S), 2,650.67 votes;

Páll Magnússon Páll Magnússon (born 17 June 1954) is the former director of RÚV, the National Icelandic Broadcasting Service. He has worked in the media for many years and was formerly executive news editor and president of Stöð 2 Stöð 2, literally S ...

(D), 6,917.83 votes;

(B), 5,227.50 votes;

Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir (born 16 December 1973) is an Icelandic politician who is a member of the Althing (Iceland's parliament) for the South Constituency since 2013 and has also served as Chairman of the Icelandic Delegation to the Nordic C ...

(B), 3,914.50 votes; Vilhjálmur Árnason (D), 4,723.17 votes. * Compensatory seats -

Smári McCarthy Smári McCarthy (; born 7 February 1984) is an Icelandic-Irish politician, innovator and information activist known for his work relating to direct democracy, transparency and privacy. Early life McCarthy was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, the ...

(P), 1,959.00 votes.

=2016

= Results of the 2016 parliamentary election held on 29 October 2016: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

(V), 2,742.00 votes;

(D), 7,306.25 votes; Jóna Sólveig Elínardóttir (C), 1,978.33 votes;

(D), 8,444.88 votes;

(B), 5,104.75 votes;

(B), 3,859.25 votes;

(P), 3,428.33 votes;

Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir (born 6 April 1974) is an Icelandic politician. She served as the Speaker of the Althing from the 24th of January 2017 until she failed to be re-elected in the 2017 Icelandic parliamentary election. She has also serv ...

(D), 5,318.25 votes; and Vilhjálmur Árnason (D), 6,390.88 votes. * Compensatory seats - Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S), 1,721.00 votes.

=2013

= Results of the 2013 parliamentary election held on 27 April 2013: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

(D), 5,421.0 votes;

Haraldur Einarsson Haraldur is a masculine Icelandic given name. Notable people with the name include: *Haraldur Benediktsson (born 1966), Icelandic politician * Haraldur Freyr Guðmundsson (born 1981), Icelandic professional football defender * Haraldur Ingi Þor ...

(B), 5,783.6 votes; Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S), 2,714.3 votes; Páll Jóhann Pálsson (B), 6,945.6 votes;

Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir (born 30 September 1967) is an Icelandic politician who is the director of the OECD Development Centre. She was previously the Politics of Iceland, Minister of Industry and Commerce from 2013 to 2017 and an electe ...

(D), 7,519.9 votes;

(B), 9,256.3 votes;

(B), 8,099.8 votes;

(D), 6,605.9 votes; and Vilhjálmur Árnason (D), 4,791.9 votes. * Compensatory seats -

Páll Valur Björnsson Páll is a name primarily of Icelandic and Faroese origins. Notable people with the name include: * Páll Bálkason (died 1231), Hebridean lord who was an ally of Olaf the Black * Páll Gíslason (1924–2004), Icelandic medical practitioner a ...

(A), 1,199.0 votes.

2000s

=2009

= Results of the 2009 parliamentary election held on 25 April 2009: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

Árni Johnsen Árni Johnsen (1 March 1944 – 6 June 2023) was an Icelandic journalist, politician, musician and athlete from Vestmannaeyjar, who represented the Independence Party in the Althing as a member of the South Constituency. Early life Árni was ...

(D), 4,781.2 votes;

Atli Gíslason Atli Gíslason (born 12 August 1947) is a member of parliament of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament. He was first elected to represent the South constituency in 2007. He was elected as a member of the Left-Green Movement, but is now a non-p ...

(V), 4,579.7 votes;

Björgvin G. Sigurðsson Björgvin G. Sigurðsson (born 30 October 1970) is an Icelandic politician, representing the Social Democratic Alliance. He became Iceland's first Minister of Business Affairs (Iceland), Minister of Business Affairs when the new ministry was spl ...

(S), 6,925.3 votes;

Eygló Harðardóttir Eygló Harðardóttir (born 12 December 1972) is an Icelandic politician and former cabinet member. She served as Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Housing from 2013 to 2017. She has a degree in art from the Stockholm University and has ...

(B), 3,993.7 votes; Oddný G. Harðardóttir (S), 6,344.0 votes;

(D), 6,903.7 votes;

Róbert Marshall Róbert Marshall (born 31 May 1971) is an Icelandic politician. In April 2009, he was elected as a Member of the Althing for the Reykjavik Constituency South, representing the Social Democratic Alliance (''Samfylkingin''). On 12 October 2012 he ...

(S), 5,094.3 votes;

(B), 5,363.0 votes; and

(D), 4,897.8 votes. * Compensatory seats -

Margrét Tryggvadóttir Margrét Tryggvadóttir (born 20 May 1972 in Kópavogur) was a member of parliament of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament from 2009–2013 for The Movement (Iceland), The Movement and the Citizens' Movement (Iceland), Citizens' Movement. She wa ...

(O), 1,374.0 votes.

=2007

= Results of the 2007 parliamentary election held on 12 May 2007: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats -

(D), 6,284.1 votes;

Árni Mathiesen Árni M. Mathiesen (born 2 October 1958 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic politician. From September 2005 through 31 January 2009, he was Minister of Finance (Iceland), Minister of Finance in Iceland. From 1999 to 2005 he was Minister of Fisheries ...

(D), 8.904.2 votes;

(V), 2,493.3 votes; Bjarni Harðarson (B), 3,554.2 votes;

(S), 6,737.5 votes; Björk Guðjónsdóttir (D), 5,965.2 votes; Guðni Ágústsson (B), 4,700.0 votes; Kjartan Ólafsson (D), 7,054.2 votes; and Lúðvík Bergvinsson (S), 4,958.0 votes. * Compensatory seats - Grétar Mar Jónsson (F), 1,755.7 votes.

=2003

= Results of the 2003 parliamentary election held on 10 May 2003: The following candidates were elected: * Constituency seats - Árni Ragnar Árnason (D), 7,214.5 votes;

(S), 5,569.5 votes; Drífa Hjartardóttir (D), 5,911.8 votes;

Guðjón Hjörleifsson Guðjón is an Icelandic language, Icelandic given name. *Guðjón S. Brjánsson (born 1955), Icelandic MP *Guðjón Arnar Kristjánsson (born 1944), Icelandic MP and chairman of the Liberal Party *Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950), State Archit ...

(D), 4,807.8 votes; Guðni Ágústsson (B), 5,905.2 votes;

Hjálmar Árnason Hjálmar is an Icelandic reggae band formed in 2004 in Keflavík. Collaborations On 2 June 2012, at the concerHljómskálinn á ListahátíðHjálmar performed with Jimi Tenor. When he introduced Tenor, Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson said that Hjá ...

(B), 4,441.7 votes; Lúðvík Bergvinsson (S), 6,433.0 votes; Magnús Þór Hafsteinsson (F), 2,188.0 votes; and

Margrét Frímannsdóttir Margrét Frímannsdóttir (born 29 May 1954) is an Icelandic former politician and party leader. A member of the Althing between 1987 and 2007, she first represented the People's Alliance and later the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA). Biography ...

(S), 7,404.6 votes. * Compensatory seats -

Jón Gunnarsson Jón Gunnarsson (born 21 September 1956) is an Icelandic politician. His multifaceted career spans various sectors including farming, industry management, and significant roles in Icelandic politics. Notably, he has served as a Member of the Alt ...

(S), 4,652.5 votes.

Notes

References

{{Constituencies of Iceland 2003 establishments in Iceland Althing constituencies Constituencies established in 2003 Althing constituency Althing constituency