In Europe, no national parliament thus far has had more female legislators than male. Iceland, after its Althing election on Saturday, was convinced that the tradition has been broken, but a vote recount changed the candidates receiving mandates and resulted in another male majority, Reuters news agency reports.
In the Saturday, September 25, election thirty women were voted into the 63-seat parliament. It is up from 24 in the last polls, but initially the official results showed 33 seats for female candidates. «In a historical and international light, the most significant news is that women are now first time in majority in the Icelandic parliament, and a first in Europe. This is good news,» Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson said to broadcaster RUV, but was later proven wrong.
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Globally, only three countries – Rwanda, Cuba and Nicaragua – have more women than men in parliament, while Mexico and the United Arab Emirates have an exact 50/50 split, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Politically, the current Icelandic government, which consists of Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir’s Left-Green Movement, the conservative Independence Party and the Progressive Party, state prior to the election that they would negotiate continued cooperation if they held their majority. President Johannesson announced that he would not hand a mandate to form a new government to any party, but would wait until coalition talks between the three parties end, Reuters wrote.
Iceland announces Europe’s first female majority in parliament, then recounts votes and stays with male majority
