Socialist Party infighting continues after failed bid to oust board member

Disputes in the Socialist Party of Iceland have continued after an attempt to remove central committee member Guðný Benediktsdóttir failed, Morgunblaðið reported.

The dispute began after Guðný refused to sign the party’s annual accounts without reservations, questioning whether the board had authority to approve them. The Companies Registry has not registered the board elected at the party’s last annual meeting because its legality is contested.

The central committee’s trust council recommended removing Guðný. The matter was later considered by the central committee, but she remained in her post. Morgunblaðið reported, citing sources, that the party’s rules did not allow her to be removed in the way proposed.

Guðný has shared information about the dispute on social media. She says party chairman Jón Ferdínand Estherarson referred the matter to the trust council. A letter from the council, which Guðný published, accused her of breaching a rule on democratic centralism by challenging the signing of the accounts. The rule requires board members to follow majority decisions.

In her response, Guðný said she had been willing to sign the accounts in line with the majority’s wishes, but with a reservation. “As an elected member of the central committee, I have personal and legal responsibility for the party’s accounts under the law. When a board member believes that an audit or disclosure of information is inadequate, it is not only their right but a legal duty to sign with a reservation or ensure that their concerns are recorded,” she wrote.

The trust council also accused Guðný of breaching confidentiality by seeking legal advice. She said the council had tried to prevent her from getting legal assistance to defend her rights.

Guðný has accused Jón of starting a campaign against her after the disagreement over the accounts. She says he gathered support to remove her from the central committee and took accusations against her to the trust council after making threats.

The latest dispute follows a long-running period of internal conflict. In May last year, a slate opposing the party’s then leadership won an election to the executive committee in what was described as a “palace coup”. Further disputes followed over board elections and the legality of meetings, including at Vorstjarnan, an association linked to the party. A controversial annual meeting of Vorstjarnan was later found to be unlawful.

Jón declined to comment on the matter beyond saying: “This is nothing but a storm in a teacup regarding the annual accounts. We have fulfilled all our obligations. It is, however, unfortunate that the person concerned is sharing confidential information publicly in this way, breaching trust and confidentiality, and misrepresenting various facts. This is being handled through the proper process within the party, and it is not appropriate to discuss it in the media.”