With Iceland’s EU referendum eight days away, Reykjavík has published detailed guidance on who is entitled to vote and how the ballot will work.
The national vote on August 29 asks whether Iceland should resume accession negotiations with the European Union. The ballot offers two choices: Yes or No.
What’s the Story?
- Icelandic citizens domiciled in Iceland who are 18 by election day can vote; foreign citizens cannot vote in this national referendum.
- Icelanders who move abroad retain voting rights for 16 years, after which they must have applied to Registers Iceland to return to the roll.
- Reykjavík’s preliminary electoral-roll base contained 95,692 voters across its two constituencies on July 22.
Voting from Reykjavík — or abroad
The City handbook says corrections can be made to the electoral roll until the last moment, so the July figure is not the final number of eligible Reykjavík voters.
Icelandic citizens who have moved their legal domicile abroad retain their voting rights for 16 years after leaving Iceland. Once that period has elapsed, they must apply to Registers Iceland to be placed back on the electoral roll. For this referendum, that application had to have been received before December 1, 2025.
Foreign citizens resident in Iceland are not eligible to vote in this national referendum.
Polling stations in Reykjavík will be open from 09:00 to 22:00 on Saturday, August 29. The capital has 25 polling locations split between Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South.
Early voting is already under way. In the capital area it is administered by the District Commissioner at Hlíðasmári 1 in Kópavogur. Reykjavík voters can also deliver completed early ballots to Reykjavík City Hall and Borgartún 12–14.
The question is whether Iceland should resume the EU accession talks halted in 2013. It is not a vote on membership itself. Iceland Review examined why officials in Brussels are watching the referendum and, in The Cod Wars Episode IV: The EU Strikes Back, looked at the fisheries sovereignty issue at the heart of the campaign.
Source: Reykjavík City election guide
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