The Supreme Court of Iceland announced its ruling today that the Constitutional Assembly election in Iceland in November 2010 had been invalid due to deficiencies in its execution.
The Supreme Court of Iceland. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
“I’m surprised by this ruling,” commented Constitutional Assembly elect Illugi Jökulsson to dv.is. “I don’t remember anyone complaining while the voting took place.”
The Supreme Court received three lawsuits because of the election and they were handled by the court on January 12. One of the primary arguments was that secret voting hadn’t been secured, dv.is reports.
It was pointed out that polling booths had been open and ballots had not been folded before they were placed in the ballot boxes, so people could have seen for which candidates others voted.
The claimants also stated that 14 seats in the Constitutional Assembly were not supported by sufficient votes that a lax turnout could have given a small group of people the authority to review the Constitution of Iceland with the backing of few voters.
However, the Supreme Court did not include that issue in its ruling.
The Supreme Court judges responsible for this case were Jón Steinar Gunnlaugsson, Gunnlaugur Claessen, Gardar Gíslason, Árni Kolbeinsson, Páll Hreinsson and Vidar Már Matthíasson.
Click here to read more about the Constitutional Assembly.
