Election Poll Iceland: Results from Maskína on April 16, 2026

According to data from Maskína, 8 parties are projected to surpass the electoral threshold and enter the Icelandic parliament: Samfylkingin with 19 representatives, Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn with 12 representatives, Miðflokkurinn with 11 representatives, Viðreisn with 8 representatives, Framsóknarflokkurinn with 4 representatives, Flokkur fólksins with 4 representatives, Píratar with 3 representatives and V with 2 representatives.

Iceland's parliament, the Althing (Alþingi), comprises 63 members elected for a four-year term. The country is divided into six constituencies. Its electoral system is a form of proportional representation, with 54 seats directly allocated within these constituencies. The remaining nine seats serve as compensatory mandates, ensuring the nationwide distribution of seats accurately reflects parties' overall vote share. Despite its small population, the system is designed to ensure fair representation for both the capital region and rural areas.

Iceland imposes a nationwide electoral threshold of 5% for parties to qualify for the nine compensatory mandates. Parties must clear this hurdle to benefit from national-level proportional adjustments. Theoretically, a party can still enter the Althing by winning a direct seat in one of the six constituencies, even without reaching the 5% national threshold. However, in practice, the 5% rule consolidates the party landscape and prevents excessive parliamentary fragmentation.

Given Iceland's electoral system heavily emphasizes proportionality, a single party rarely secures an absolute majority. Consequently, two- or three-party coalition governments are the norm. Following an election, the President of Iceland consults with party leaders, typically tasking the head of the strongest party with forming a government. Iceland's political culture is marked by pragmatism, often seeing coalitions forged across ideological lines to secure stable majorities for addressing economic and environmental challenges.