Jens Garðar Helgason wins Independence Party election in Mývatnssveit, Iceland

Jens Garðar Helgason has emerged victorious in the local elections for the Independence Party in the Northeast constituency, defeating the incumbent representative, Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson. Jens garnered 100 votes, accounting for 59.5% of the total, while Njáll received 68 votes, or 40.5%.

The elections for the top five positions on the party’s list took place today at a constituency meeting in Mývatnssveit. Voting is being conducted one seat at a time, with results for the next position expected in approximately thirty minutes. Njáll Trausti has confirmed his candidacy for the next seat.

Before this election, other candidates included sitting MP Berglind Ósk Guðmundsdóttir, deputy MP Berglind Harpa Svavarsdóttir, and former MP Valgerður Gunnarsdóttir.

At 47 years old and a native of Eskifjörður, Jens Garðar has an academic background in business studies from the University of Iceland and holds an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics. He currently resides in Eskifjörður and serves as the assistant director of the aquaculture company Kaldvík.

Jens has extensive experience in the fishing industry and has held various leadership roles at the local government level. He was the chair of the Association of Companies in Fishing from 2014 to 2020, the vice-chair of the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprises from 2017 to 2020, and chaired the municipal council in Fjarðabyggð during two terms from 2010 to 2018.