Alþingiskosningar - 01.03.2002, Síða 32

30
Alþingiskosningar 1999
Table 1 shows the number of absentee votes cast by voters
registered in each municipality. The total number ofabsentee
votes was 16,016, or 9.5%ofthe total number of votes cast.
Summary 8 shows this ratio as from 1916.
In 1999 7,037 absentee votes, or 44.0% of the total, were
cast by women. Summary 8 shows that there were high
proportions of absentee voting among women in 1918. 1923
and 1944. This was due to voting at home only.
Summary 6 compares absentee voting between constitu-
encies, and Summary 9 shows the absolute number of
absentee votes by constituency and sex, including votes sent
directly to the constituency electoral committee.
Summary 10 shows the number of absentee votes cast
within Iceland by place ofabsentee voting. About 90% were
cast at a regular ofFice while less than 1 % were cast at home.
It should be noted that the total of this Summary does not
correspond to the number of valid absentee votes shown
elsewhere in this report, as it excludes voting abroad or
aboard Icelandic ships and includes votes that may never
have been received by the election committee concerned or
may have been rendered invalid if the voter also voted at his
or her polling station on election day.
J. Voting on election day at a polling station other than that
of registration
A voter is entitled to vote at any polling station in his
constituency, provided he presents a certificate, issued by
the electoral committee of his polling station to the electoral
committee of the polling station where he or she intends to
vote, stating that he or she is registered as a voter and has
relinquished his or her right to vote there. This option became
effective in the 1916 general elections and was exercised
then by 2.9% ofthe voters. At that time and until the summer
election of 1959, these were to some extent absentee votes
which could not reach the polling station of registration
before closing time. In later elections the use ofthis right has
diminished to very sntall percentages.
Summary 9 shows the number of votes cast in a different
polling station in the 1999 general elections in each
constituency, hy sex, and Summary 6 shows them as a
proportion of the total number of votes.
6. Candidate lists and candidates
In the 1999 general elections there were 61 candidate lists
with 776 candidates, 464 men and 312 women. The share of
women on the lists fell from just over 50% in 1995 to 40% in
1999. In the 1995 elections the Women’s Alliance had 8
candidate lists with women only. The share of women on
other lists in 1995 was 42%.
All Icelandic citizens who have the right to vote and are of
unblemished character are eligible for election to the Althingi
except judges of the Supreme Court.
Candidate lists have to be supported by a number of
signatures of eligible voters derived from the number of seats
for each consituency multiplied by a minimum of 20 and a
maximum of 30.
Summary 11 shows the number of men and women on
candidate lists by constituency and political organizations,
both for the whole list and for the first three seats on the list.
Summary 12 shows the number of men and women on every
candidate list. Summary 13 shows the number of candidates
domiciled within and outside their respective constituencies.
Summary 14 shows the distribution of candidates by sex in
general elections since October 1959.
Table 3 gives the name, occupation and domicile of every
candidate in the 1999 general elections.
7. Outcome of the elections
Table 4 shows the election results by constituency and
political organization. The total nurnber of valid votes was
165,727, while there were 3,351 blank and 346 void ballots.
Summary 15 shows the votes received by political
organizations, their share in the votes and members returned
since 1916, when candidates to the Althingi began forming
political parties. Before that time members of the Althingi
had collaborated in political groups within the Althingi. The
election results of organizations that never retumed a member
and of non-party candidates are grouped together.
Summary 6 shows the proportion of blank and void ballots
in each constituency, and Summary 16 shows their number
and proportion in each election since 1908, when the secret
ballot was introduced.
8. Allocation of seats in the Althingi.
When all the election results have been received by the
National Elections Board it meets to allocate seats in the
Althingi to the candidate lists. The law prescribes that the
number of members representing political organizations in
the Althingi shall as far as possible correspond to the votes
they received. For this purpose, up to one-fourth of the total
number of seats of each constituency, may be allocated on
the basis of national election results. The following articles
(and articles listed in chapter 9) in the General Elections Act
prescribe the procedure. The contents of Article 5 referred
to were given in Chapter 1.
Article 111 decides the allocation of seats hased on
constituency results:
1. The number of valid votes in each constituency is
divided by the number ofseats. The integer ofthe result
is referred to as allocation quota.
2. The first seat is allocated to the candidate list with the
highest number of votes. The allocation quota is then
subtracted from the number of votes. The second seat
goes to the list which now has the highest vote index,
and so on. In each case the vote index means the total
nurnber of votes less the product of the allocation quota
and the number of seats already allocated to the list.
3. Allocation in this manner shall apply to three quarters of
the total number of seats to be allocated in each
constituency. In case this number includes a ffaction,
the next integer above is chosen.
If the votes of the list with the lowest number of votes are
less than two thirds of the allocation quota the list cannot be
considered for allocation according to this article. The votes
of this list must then be subtracted from the total number of
votes and the allocation quota recalculated. If the same
applies to the list with the second lowest number of votes, the
same process is repeated, and so on as long as there is a list