Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.05.2014, Blaðsíða 16

16
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06 — 2014
Am I allowed to vote?
Foreign nationals are granted the right
to vote depending on length of resi-
dence in Iceland:
• Nordic nationals can vote when
they have had legal residence in Iceland
for a period of three consecutive years
from May 31, 2011.
• Other foreign nationals when they
have had legal residence in Iceland for
a period of five consecutive years from
May 29, 2009.

Do I have to register?
No. Anyone who has the right to vote
will automatically be on the electoral
roll in the municipality where their
legal residence (‘lögheimili’) is regis-
tered as of May 10, 2014. The electoral
roll will be accessible for a period of at
least 15 days prior to Election Day on
the website www.kosning.is. The roll is
also available at municipal government
offices no later than ten days prior to
the date of the election.
For more information (some of
which has been translated into 13 lan-
guages), see: http://www.kosning.is/
sveitarstjornarkosningar-2014/eng-
lish/english/

Why should I vote?
Local elections are the opportunity
to have your say, locally, right in your
own neighbourhood. Elections for city
council and the mayor happen only
every four years. Some people, espe-
cially immigrants, tend to not exercise
their right to vote. Perhaps they do not
think they understand enough about
local politics to make a decision, they
don’t think their vote counts, or local
issues just do not seem that exciting or
important. The reality is that the local
elections are very important. Locally
elected officials make huge decisions
about our daily lives that are often un-
dervalued.

My vote does not matter.
That is completely, patently false. In
Icelandic local elections every vote
counts and just a handful of votes or
a tiny percentage can make a differ-
ence. In the 2010 municipal elections
in Dalvík, the majority won by only one
vote and in the same year in Stykkishól-
mur by three votes. Indeed, every vote
can make a difference.
I don’t understand
what is going on.
Granted the world of politics is con-
fusing, even in our home countries
where we can follow along in our own
language. But there are ways to cut
through all the confusion and to get to
the heart of the matter. For instance:
Some parties have translated their
manifestos and various policies into
English and other languages, so have a
look on their websites.
If you know Icelandic, you can read
transcripts of council and committee
meetings, which gives you a good idea
of which way each party is leaning on
various issues. For instance, if you are
interested in education issues read
some of the minutes from the Educa-
tion Council (‘menntaráð’): http://reyk-
javik.is/fundargerdir
Talk to people you know who be-
long to the various parties. Ask them
questions about things that interest
you and what their party intends to
focus on.
You can actually call their offices
and talk to them. Ask them questions
about what you think is important.
Attend meetings held by the parties.
Do your best to understand and then
during coffee breaks approach mem-
bers and ask them questions.
Local issues aren’t really
that important. All the
important stuff happens
in Alþingi!
While Alþingi sets laws and regula-
tions regarding the bigger picture there
is still a lot that gets decided upon on a
local level. For instance, Alþingi passes
a law that each municipality must of-
fer basic social services, and what the
minimum amount of financial support
should be, but local officials decide the
everyday details on how the service
should be run, where service centres
should be placed and their opening
hours. Local officials also have the free-
dom to decide to pay higher than the
minimum set by the State and exactly
how funding should be used.

Local issues aren’t that
exciting.
They can be very exciting as local of-
ficials decide what kind of city you live
in. Where should new parks be? Where
is it ok to open a new pub or hotel? What
streets should be pedestrian only and
should we build new bike paths? New
high-rise buildings to replace older
buildings? Locally elected officials ac-
tually decide what your city is going to
look like, both in the near and distant
future.
But I don’t use any
city services, so why
should I care?
Perhaps you are not on social welfare
or don’t have any school-aged children.
But do you ever go the swimming pools,
or walk down the city sidewalks, take
the bus, throw out your trash, appreci-
ate streetlights, or just sit on a bench
somewhere? Then you use city services
and have the opportunity to have an ef-
fect on all of these things.

Here’s a list of local-run
institutions and pro-
grammes:

sports, recreation, cultural and
library services

fire and emergency services
water, electricity and sewer
services

snow and garbage removal

road, sidewalk and bike, path,
maintenance and safety

play-schools, primary schools,
day parents, after-school centres

swimming pools, parks, play-
grounds

social services, services for the
elderly, infirmed and disabled

city planning, building permits,
business permits

drug, alcohol and tobacco pre-
vention

human rights and equality

buses and public transportation
Who, What, Where, Why And How
By The Human Rights Office
Gourmet Experience
- Steaks and Style at Argentina Steakhouse
Barónsstíg 11 - 101 Reykjavík
Tel: 551 9555
argentina.is
of the pillars of our policy is a pilot proj-
ect of teaching the most common mother
tongues in school, because we believe
that bilingualism is a treasure we can’t
afford to lose. We also have plans to
make Reykjavík a model employer of im-
migrants and we will combat discrimi-
nation on the labour market.
Immigrants are a major source
of strength for Reykjavik,
since immigration, alongside
tourism, has made Reykjavík a more
multicultural and cosmopolitan city. The
city should therefore not only help immi-
grants assimilate, it should continue to
assimilate itself to the immigrants! Cre-
ating a multicultural city is not about as-
similating the immigrants: it is about
creating a city where people of different
backgrounds can live and work together
in harmony.
Does your party have a stance
on the role of religion in city
governance or education?
It is part of the curriculum to
teach about all religions. The
city government should be
non-discriminatory towards all beliefs
and we have introduced new rules
ensuring that schools are not used for
missionary purposes.
We believe in a strict
separation of church and
state. Religious indoctrination
has absolutely no place in schools.
What is your opinion on the
city financially backing cul-
tural events like RIFF? Will
you increase, decrease or keep
cultural expenditures at the
same level as they are now?
Pirates think that the city
should support cultural events,
especially those that are proven
to bring visitors as well as culture and es-
teem to the city. Financially backing cul-
tural events should always be looked at
on a case-by-case basis and certain fun-
damental criteria should be met. Support
needs to be transparent and provided on
a professional basis, keeping in mind that
the city must be able to justify why it
would support some events and not oth-
ers.
We were the only party that
was against cutting support
for RIFF. RIFF has been a suc-
cessful film festival in Reykjavík for over
ten years and the city has been a big sup-
porter of the festival from the very be-
ginning. We did not see a good reason for
why the current coalition stopped sup-
port for RIFF but instead, began sup-
porting a brand new film festival.
We will continue to support cultural
life in Reykjavík as it very important for
the city.
It is very important that the
city support cultural events.
However, we would like to see
the city do more to support grassroots
activities, especially now when impor-
tant venues for young artists like Nasa, Fak-
torý and Hjartagarðurinn ["The Heart
Park"] have been demolished.
Unemployment in Reykjavík
was 4.9% in the last quarter
of 2013. What steps will your
party take to reduce unem-
ployment?
On an international scale it is a
low unemployment rate, but we
would like to reduce black mar-
ket and illegal work.
We want to lower taxes for the
people in Reykjavík and to
build on what the parliament
is doing by also lowering taxes for com-
panies. Lowering taxes will promote
company growth and job creation, or will
induce people to create their own compa-
nies. This will lower unemployment
rates, which are far too high.
Reykjavík must shoulder re-
sponsibility, both as a public
authority, but also as one of the
largest employers in Iceland. It is espe-
cially important that the city offer em-
ployment opportunities for young peo-
ple during the summer months when
youth unemployment is high. The city
should also offer employment opportu-
nities that contribute to innovation in
the city. There are significant opportuni-
ties for this, both in the welfare and edu-
cation sectors. This way we create jobs,
while at the same time improving city
services.