Social democrats gain, incumbents punished in Iceland's election

Voters in Iceland appeared to have rejected incumbent parties in a parliamentary election, partial results showed Sunday, with a centre-left party leading the contest in the North Atlantic island nation.

With more than half of votes counted, the Social Democratic Alliance had won 15 seats in the 63-seat parliament, the Althingi, and secured more than 21 per cent of votes, according to national broadcaster RUV. The conservative Independence Party had 14 seats and just under 20 per cent of votes, and the centrist Liberal Reform Party 11 seats and 16 per cent of votes.

Icelanders voted Saturday after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call an early election.

Counting was delayed in some areas by snowstorms that blocked roads and slowed delivery of ballot boxes to count centres.

Since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy and ushered in a new era of political instability, Iceland has been governed by multi-party coalitions of various hues.

Like many Western countries, Iceland has been buffeted by the rising cost of living and immigration pressures, and voters are taking it out on incumbent governments. Benediktsson's Independence Party and its coalition partners in the outgoing government, the Progressive Party and the Left Greens, all appeared to have lost votes.

Iceland, a volcanic island nation tucked below the Arctic Circle with a population of less than 400,000, is proud of its democratic traditions. The Althingi, founded in 930 by Viking settlers, is arguably the world's oldest legislature.