Iceland parliamentary elections pluralistic and transparent, says OSCE/ODIHR final report, recommends measures to strengthen legal framework

The 27 April 2013 parliamentary elections in Iceland were conducted in a pluralistic and transparent manner, but certain aspects of the electoral legal framework could benefit from further review, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) says in its final report, which was released on 24 June 2013.

The document notes that voters enjoyed a wide choice of political options, the electoral process was marked by a high degree of respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and voters showed trust in the impartiality of the election administration. The assessment of the legal framework concluded that there was a generally sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections.

The report acknowledges that the legislation underwent a number of amendments after the 2009 elections. It, however, recommends a further review of the legislation to reduce regional discrepancies in voting weight between constituencies and ensure the equality of the vote. Amendments to the election legislation should also be considered to allow for citizen and international election observation, in line with OSCE commitments.

While party and candidate registration was found to be inclusive, the report notes a lack of clear and consistent guidelines to manage the nomination process. The document also recommends that the authorities improve consistency and ensure uniformity of practice at all levels of the election administration.

Other priority recommendations include: to introduce effective sanctions to enforce campaign-finance regulations; provide for a legal right to appeal election-related decisions and election results to a competent court; and to review how the right of access for parties on the public broadcaster is managed.