Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson, Icelandic Social Democrat MP, intends to submit a bill to parliament which would see the country changed from six parliamentary voting districts into just one.
Sigurdsson told Bylgjan Radio that he has written a draft bill and sent it to the leaders of all the parties represented in the Althingi parliament.
He said he [...]
Bjorgvin G. Sigurdsson, Icelandic Social Democrat MP, intends to submit a bill to parliament which would see the country changed from six parliamentary voting districts into just one.
Sigurdsson told Bylgjan Radio that he has written a draft bill and sent it to the leaders of all the parties represented in the Althingi parliament.
He said he also expects to find support for the bill outside parliament. The proposed legislation is built on a previous bill put forward by Hedinn Valdimarsson in the 30s and another by Gudmundur Arni Stefansson a few years ago.
Under Iceland’s current proportional representation rules, each party prepares a list of candidates in each region who will be elected to parliament if enough people vote for them. The seats in Althingi are split up between the regions.
Under the new plan, each party would prepare just one national list which everybody would vote on. Under the Icelandic system, every vote counts because votes are cast for parties and not candidates, so winning parties get more of their listed candidates elected than losing parties.
The new bill would give every voter in Iceland an equal chance to vote for every seat in parliament, meaning that everybody making laws in Althingi would be mandated by every voter. Critics of the plan fear, however, that candidates would focus their policies and campaigning on more populated areas at the expense of voters in the countryside.