Reykjavik, 17.05.2026 - Commenting on the overall mission, Mélanie Lepoultier (France, ILDG), Head of delegation, noted:
"The seven Congress teams deployed across the country observed well-organised elections with smooth procedures managed by professional and experienced polling station commissioners. In the over 65 polling stations visited from opening to closing, the atmosphere was very positive with no major incidents or anomalies occurring.
We were particularly impressed that, in a context of high trust in electoral processes, the Icelandic authorities have successfully implemented several integrity safeguards, notably numbered seals and double or triple verification procedures by electoral staff opened to party representatives. Although the election administration is decentralised, a largely consistent application of procedures was observed throughout the country, with minor differences related to voter identification, counting procedures and the training of polling station commissioners. The efficiency of the process was guaranteed by the good level of human resources dedicated to the municipalities.
We also welcomed the inclusiveness of Iceland's electoral process, which provided many opportunities for all long-term residents to vote on election day and in advance, including in sparsely populated areas. All polling stations visited were accessible for voters with mobility impairments, while voter information directed at non-nationals in several languages was appreciated. These aspects contributed to an open election process and embodied the lively tradition of local democracy in Iceland. To further increase inclusiveness, additional emphasis on encouraging young voters to vote and stand for election may be considered.
Turning to the pre-election period, the campaign was competitive in most of the 61 municipalities of Iceland, except in seven where no lists were registered and four where only one list was standing. In the latter case, the absence of an election was pointed by some observers as potentially affecting the democratic accountability of these new councils.
Campaign topics were highly localised, revolving around the local priorities of specific communities, such as infrastructure, schools, childcare and housing. Media coverage was perceived as extensive and balanced, with candidates participating in various debates. However, we noted some concerns regarding the overall state of the traditional media, affected by media concentration due to the small size of the country and a limited number of professional journalists. Furthermore, in some of the smaller municipalities, voters may face media deserts on local matters.
Moreover, as the campaign was held mainly online, additional safeguards regarding political advertisement, official campaign duration and regulation of social media could be envisaged. Reports for competition for online attention, combined with a still low but growing polarisation, have indeed at times diverted voters' focus from local issues.
While campaign finance was overall adequately regulated, we believed that greater trust and transparency could be achieved by introducing more timely reporting requirements, lowering the limits for donations and detailing provisions related to third-party support.
We very particularly praised the high level of female representation in Icelandic local politics, with Iceland reaching gender parity at local level, a goal that all Council of Europe member States should strive to achieve. At the same time, we noted that progress is not guaranteed, having heard reports of backtracking on internal party parity measures and cases of threats and harassment, including online, against local politicians particularly targeting women. The latter was considered one of the main reasons why female politicians often drop out or choose not to stand for re-election. On this matter, the delegation underlines the recent adoption of the Congress recommendation on tackling violence against elected officials, which could provide some valuable insights.
Finally, as this was both the first time that the Congress observed elections in Iceland and one of the country's first international election observation missions, we appreciated the willingness to engage and friendliness of the electoral staff, while also pointing out some minor misunderstandings in polling stations. Additional information on the rights and the role of electoral observers could therefore be more widely disseminated across all polling stations.
We would like to thank the authorities of Iceland for their openness in reflecting on their electoral processes in the light of European electoral standards, in the very birthplace of the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy adopted at the Fourth Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government. We remain available for future cooperation in this respect.
A 15-observer delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, led by Mélanie Lepoultier (France, ILDG), Head of Delegation, and Zana Gümüş, Deputy-head (Türkiye, SOC/G/PD), concluded its mission to observe the local elections in Iceland, held on Saturday 16 May 2026. This was the first time that the Congress had observed elections in Iceland.
Prior to election day, the delegation held meetings on 14 and 15 May 2026 with key stakeholders involved in the elections, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, the media, and civil society. The delegation also held discussions with political parties and candidates running in the 2026 elections.
Further to the Congress mission, a draft recommendation will be discussed at the Congress session in October 2026 in Strasbourg (France).
