Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 1 June 2024.[1][2] Incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson announced that he would not seek a third term.[1] Entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir was elected as his successor,[3] and took office on 1 August.[4]
Background
The previous presidential elections on 27 June 2020 saw incumbent president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson re-elected for a second four-year term with 92% of the vote, over Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson.[5] The office of President is not term-limited; however, despite being eligible to serve a third term, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people on 1 January 2024 that he would not stand for re-election again.[6]
On election day polling stations opened at 09:00 and ran until 22:00.[9]
Candidates
Prospective presidential candidates had until 26 April 2024 to collect more than 1,500 voter signatures to secure ballot access.[10] Eighty candidates sought voter signatures by that date. The following individuals have received media attention for their potential candidacy for the position of president. On 29 April 2024, the National Electoral Commission announced which candidates had secured ballot access.
Lawyer and former judge who holds the right to speak before the Supreme Court of Iceland. He resigned his seat in the Althing and his membership with the Independence Party to run for President.[11]
Businessman, activist, and perennial candidate, having run for President of Iceland in 1996, 2004, 2012, and 2016 — he had planned to run in 2000, but failed to get the necessary qualifying signatures. He is known for his Pro-Russian views.[13][14]
Director of Energy Affairs at Orkustofnun [is] (since 2021)
Director of Energy Affairs at the Icelandic Energy Agency, the first woman to hold the position. Also an adjunct professor at Harvard University in the United States.[17]
Actor and comedian who served one term as Mayor of Reykjavík for the Best Party, where his election and tenure in office made international headlines. He joined the Social Democratic Alliance in 2017.[20]
Former Prime Minister of Iceland, the first member of the Left-Green Movement to hold that position, overseeing a coalition government including her party, the Independence Party, and the Progressive Party. She was a member of the Althing from 2007 to 2024, and was chair of her party from 2013 to 2024. She resigned as chair of the Left-Green Movement, as a member of the Althing, and as Prime Minister to run for President.[21][22]
Presidential debates have featured Iceland's membership in NATO, military aid for Ukraine, the possible sale of the state energy firm Landsvirkjun and the use of veto powers by the Presidency. Questions were also raised on whether Katrín Jakobsdóttir's background as a politician and prime minister would affect her tenure in office, to which she said that she "can rise above party politics".[10] Halla Tómasdóttir ran her campaign on issues such as the effects of social media on the mental health of youth, tourism development and the role of artificial intelligence.[55]
Opinion polls
Local regression of the main candidates before the 2024 election.
^Gunnhildur Kjerúlf Birgisdóttir (1 January 2024). "Guðni býður sig ekki fram á ný". RÚV (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
