National Electoral Commission confirms Iceland referendum result

Iceland’s National Electoral Commission has confirmed that the result of the 29 August referendum on resuming European Union accession talks remains unchanged, mbl.is reports. The proposal was rejected, with 52.8 per cent voting against it.

The commission met under election law to rule on disputed ballots and announce the final result. It overturned several decisions made by district electoral commissions.

In the Reykjavik North constituency, four disputed ballots were confirmed as valid. In the Southwest constituency, the commission reviewed 16 disputed ballots. It upheld the district commission’s decision on some of them and declared the others invalid. One ballot marked Yes was ruled invalid, overturning the district commission’s decision. Seven ballots marked No were declared valid, rather than invalid as previously decided.

The decision concerning the only disputed ballot in the Reykjavik South constituency was upheld.

Turnout was 82.6 per cent, with 225,031 votes cast. There were 223,385 valid votes. A total of 105,338 people, or 47.2 per cent, voted Yes, while 118,047, or 52.8 per cent, voted No. There were 897 blank ballots, or 0.4 per cent, and 749 invalid ballots, or 0.3 per cent. The electoral register contained 272,553 voters.