Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

is divided into 6 constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives

Legislator

A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...

 to the Alþingi (parliament).

History

The current division was established by a 1999 constitution

Constitution of Iceland

The Constitution of Iceland is the supreme law of Iceland. It is composed of 80 articles in seven sections, and within it the leadership arrangement of the country is determined and the human rights of its citizens are preserved. The current constitution was first instituted on June 17, 1944; since...

 amendment and was an attempt to balance the weight of different districts of the country whereby voters in the rural districts have greater representation per head than voters in Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

 city and its suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

s. The new division comprises three countryside constituencies (NW, NE and S) and three city constituencies (RN, RS and SW). The imbalance of votes between city and country still exists and a provision in the election law states that if the number of votes per seat in parliament in one constituency goes below half of what it is in any other constituency, one seat shall be transferred between them. This has actually occurred and as of the elections in 2007, one seat was transferred from the Northwest constituency to the Southwest one.

Composition

The constituencies are the following (number in brackets indicate number of representatives for that constituency out of 63 total):

• Reykjavík North
  Reykjavíkurkjördæmi Norður
  Reykjavíkurkjördæmi NorðurReykjavík NorthCountry:Main town: ReykjavíkArea:9.27 km²Population:119,357 Electors:43,784 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:11Composition:1 municipality 1 county 1 regionWebsite:?...
  
  (Reykjavíkurkjördæmi Norður): (11)
• Reykjavík South
  Reykjavíkurkjördæmi Suður
  Reykjavíkurkjördæmi SuðurReykjavík SouthCountry:Main town: ReykjavíkArea:? km²Population:119,357 Electors:43,748 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:11Composition:1 municipality 1 county 1 regionWebsite:?...
  
  (Reykjavíkurkjördæmi Suður): (11)
• Northwest
  Norðvesturkjördæmi
  NorðvesturkjördæmiNorthwestCountry:Main town: AkranesArea:? km²Population:30,493 Electors:21,924 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:9Composition:27 municipalities 11 counties 3 regionsWebsite:?...
  
  (Norðvesturkjördæmi): (9)
• Northeast
  Norðausturkjördæmi
  NorðausturkjördæmiNortheastCountry:Main town: AkureyriArea:? km²Population:39,621 Electors:28,362 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:10Composition:21 municipalities 5 counties 2 regionsWebsite:?...
  
  (Norðausturkjördæmi): (10)
• South
  Suðurkjördæmi
  SuðurkjördæmiSouthCountry:Main town: KeflavíkArea:? km²Population:47,810 Electors:32,505 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:10Composition:20 municipalities 5 counties 3 regionsWebsite:?...
  
  (Suðurkjördæmi): (10)
• Southwest
  Suðvesturkjördæmi
  SuðvesturkjördæmiSouthwestCountry:Main town: KópavogurArea:? km²Population:82,045 Electors:58,203 Established:1999Representatives to Alþingi:12Composition:7 municipalities 1 county 1 regionWebsite:?...
  
  (Suðvesturkjördæmi): (12)

See also

• Administrative divisions of Iceland
• Geography of Iceland
  Geography of Iceland
  Iceland is a medium-sized island in the North Atlantic ocean. The island is located east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the divergent boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies about from New York City and from Scotland...
  
  
• Municipalities of Iceland
  Municipalities of Iceland
  The municipalities of Iceland are local administrative areas in Iceland that provide a number of services to their inhabitants such as kindergartens, elementary schools, waste management, social services, public housing, public transportation, services to senior citizens and handicapped people...
  
  
• Counties of Iceland
  Counties of Iceland
  Iceland is traditionally divided into 23 counties, sýslur, and 25 independent towns, kaupstaðir. Today this division is no longer significant as far as administration is concerned...
  
  
• Regions of Iceland
  Regions of Iceland
  |There are eight regions of Iceland, mainly used for statistical purposes. The district court jurisdictions also follow this division. The postal code system follows the regions as well with a few exceptions. Before 2003 the regions were also used as constituencies for elections to Alþingi...
  
  
• Farthings of Iceland
  Farthings of Iceland
  Historically, Iceland was divided into four landsfjórðungar or farthings, that were named after the Cardinal directions. These were administrative divisions established in 965 for the purpose of organising regional assemblies and for regional courts...
  
  

External links

Article on Alþingi website