The new Icesave agreement between Iceland, the UK and Holland was approved in parliament yesterday, 44 votes against 16. A proposal to put the matter up for public referendum was killed, 33 votes to 30.
Vísir reports that the voting was almost entirely down party lines. Every Social Democrat voted in favour, as well as every Leftist-Green except Ásmundur Einar Daðason and Lilja Mósesdóttir, and there was also a strong showing from the conservatives. 11 of 16 conservative MPs voted for the bill, while four voted against it and one – Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson – abstained altogether. Progressives voted against it or abstained, and all three MPs for the Movement voted against it.
Conservative chairman Bjarni Benediktsson – who voted for the Icesave bill – had earlier supported a proposal to refer the bill for public referendum. This proposal was summarily voted down, 33 votes to 30.
The online petition calling for the bill to be voted down in parliament or for the president to veto it has also come under fire. A blogger pointed out that it was possible to put any possible name on the list, even multiple times. The petition organisers have also filed a report with the police, saying that the site has been the target of online attacks. At the time of this writing, there are just under 38,000 signatures on the list – just over 10% of the population.
The bill will now be sent to the president to be either signed into law, or vetoed and subsequently put up for public referendum. The latest poll on the matter showed that 62% of Icelanders believe Icesave should be ultimately up to the people to decide.
Related:
Official Summary Of The Icesave Agreement (in English, .pdf file)
Run-Down Of Grapevine’s Latest Icesave Stories
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