The 2003 Icelandic parliamentary election took place on 19 May 2003 to elect the members of the Althing

Althing

The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...

 of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

Background

For the previous 12 years Davíð Oddsson

Davíð Oddsson

Davíð Oddsson is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, holding office from 1991 to 2004. He also served as Foreign Minister from 2004 to 2005. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of...

 of the Independence Party

Independence Party (Iceland)

The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....

 had been Prime Minister of Iceland

Prime Minister of Iceland

The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....

 and since the 1995 election

Icelandic parliamentary election, 1995

The 1995 Icelandic parliamentary election took place on 8 April 1995 in Iceland to elect members of the Althing....

 had ben ruling in coalition with the Progressive Party

Progressive Party (Iceland)

The Progressive Party is an agrarian, liberal and centrist party in Iceland. The party is a member of the Liberal International. Current chairman of the party is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. He was elected on January 18, 2009. His predecessor was Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, who only served as...

. At the last election in 1999 the two ruling parties won 38 of the 63 seats to maintain a majority in the Icelandic parliament.

Campaign

The Social Democratic Alliance was the main left wing opposition party and their leader, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir is an Icelandic politician from the Social Democratic Alliance, formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs 2007–2009 and leader of the Alliance 2005–2009.-Education:...

, a former mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

, was hoping to become the first female Prime Minister of Iceland. They were hoping to capitalise on a feeling that it was time for a change in government. The Social Democrats stressed welfare

Welfare

Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...

, health and housing which they said the Independence Party had failed to address.

The Independence Party campaigned on their record of economic growth over the past decade. This had seen Icelandic businesses expand abroad and Iceland become the 6th richest county per capita

Per capita

Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...

 in purchasing power parity

Purchasing power parity

In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...

.

Opinion poll

Opinion poll

An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...

s as the election neared showed the Independence Party with about 34-35% support and with a small lead over the Social Democratic Alliance which was getting 27-33% support.

Election results

The results saw the Independence Party maintain a small lead over the opposition Social Democratic Alliance. However this was their worst election result since the 1987 election as their vote dropped from 40.7% in the last election to only 33.7%.

The Social Democrats gained three seats however their leader, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, was not elected. This was because she had only placed herself 5th on the list of candidates for her district.