Government To Bypass Supreme Court Ruling

24.2.2011
Words by Paul Nikolov
A meeting of the leaders of Iceland's ruling political parties has reached the decision to appoint the 25 people who were elected to comprise the proposed constitutional assembly, thereby by-passing a Supreme Court ruling that found the elections broke numerous laws and were therefore invalid.

Eyjan reports that the ruling coalition wants to see all 25 candidates who were voted in appointed to comprise a constitutional committee. The Social Democrats and the Leftist-Greens have formally introduced the idea, and it is expected that The Movement will support it.

However, it is at the moment uncertain where the Progressives stand, and the Independence Party has always been against the idea of the constitutional assembly. They in fact wanted to see the matter dropped after the Supreme Court ruled that the elections broke numerous election laws and were therefore invalid.

When the ruling was made, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir vowed that there would be an assembly one way or the other. One idea was to hold elections again, but the last Gallup poll on the matter showed that Icelanders viewed simply appointing the 25 voted in more favourably than they viewed new elections.

The measure still has to be approved by parliament before a date for the assembly can be set.

Related:

40% Of Icelanders Want Government To Appoint Constitutional Committee

Prime Minister: There Will Be A Constitutional Assembly

Constitutional Assembly May Be Reality After All

Response To Court Ruling On Constitutional Assembly Mixed

Constitutional Assembly Elections Ruled Invalid
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