Steingrímur urges voters to accept referendum result peacefully

Former minister and speaker of Iceland’s parliament Steingrímur J. Sigfússon has urged voters to accept the result of the 29 August referendum peacefully, whatever the outcome, mbl.is reports.

Steingrímur spoke at an Áfram Ísland meeting at Hof, a venue in Akureyri, where about 500 people attended. He described the meeting as impressive and said the venue was packed. He especially enjoyed speaking at such a large gathering in his former constituency.

He said the turnout showed that people were willing to familiarise themselves with the issues and take the referendum seriously.

Steingrímur said his own position was neither a secret nor something to be embarrassed about: he would vote no. He had already cast his ballot before election day.

He said the most important thing was for people to use their right to vote. Those who remained undecided should seek as much information as possible, look beneath the surface and try to distinguish facts from other claims in the debate.

With the result expected to be close, Steingrímur said the referendum should not fuel division. Even if the two sides were nearly evenly matched, he said, no one should be ashamed of belonging to either camp when it had the support of almost half the electorate.

“Everyone should be able to live in peace and harmony with a democratic result,” he said. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir also addressed the meeting.