During last weekend’s municipal elections the Icelandic National Front broke a local record by winning the fewest votes in the history of Iceland.
The party, which is widely known for its hardline stance on immigrants, received 125 votes in Reykjavík—one less than the previous record holder, the Humanist Party. According to RÚV, a political party hasn’t received less support in municipal elections since 1962, when the authorities officially began defining Reykjavík as a city. In fact, one has to go back as far as 1924 to find a lower electoral outcome.
Back then, the inhabitants of Reykjavík numbered around 20,000. The party in question, which was led by banker Magnús Sigurðsson, received about 102 votes after the candidates posted newspaper advertisement imploring the Icelandic people not to vote for them. “Thanks to your signatures we have now been registered for municipal elections in Reykjavík under the C-List, without our knowledge nor willingness,” read their statement. “We don’t want to get into city council, so we hope none will vote us in the upcoming municipal elections.”
RÚV also drafted a list of Icelandic political parties that fared almost as badly as the National Front since 1962. Ironically, most parties appearing on the list were registered for elections this year. Right above the National Party and the Humanists, in fact, you can spit the Freedom Party with 147 votes; the People’s Front of Iceland with 149; the Men’s List with 203; Our City with 228; and the Capital City with 365.
Here’s a fun fact for you: a party called “Left, Right, Turn,” which was registered for the 2002 elections as a joke, received nearly twice as many votes than the National Party.
Another fun fact? A party needs a minimum of 160 signatures or recommendations to be able to register for municipal elections, which means that about 40 people had a last minute change of heart and bailed on the National Front, while two other parties in the run suffered a very similar fate.
Here’s how other parties fared in the elections.
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