Commission confirms Iceland’s vote against resuming EU talks

Iceland’s National Electoral Commission has confirmed the result of the 29 August referendum, with voters rejecting a proposal to resume membership talks with the European Union, mbl.is reports. The final outcome remains unchanged because the disputed ballots represented only a small number of votes.

The commission ruled on the validity of disputed ballots and overturned several decisions by supervisory electoral commissions.

Four disputed ballots from the Reykjavík North constituency were confirmed as valid. In the Southwest constituency, the commission reviewed 16 disputed ballots. It upheld the validity of some ballots, while declaring others invalid. One ballot marked Yes was ruled invalid, overturning the supervisory commission’s decision. Seven ballots marked No were declared valid rather than invalid.

The commission confirmed the decision concerning the only disputed ballot from the Reykjavík South constituency.

Turnout was 82.6 per cent, with 225,031 votes cast. There were 223,385 valid votes. The Yes option received 105,338 votes, or 47.2 per cent, while No received 118,047 votes, or 52.8 per cent.

There were 897 blank ballots, or 0.4 per cent, and 749 invalid ballots, or 0.3 per cent. A total of 272,553 voters were registered.

The commission held the meeting in accordance with Iceland’s election law to rule on disputed ballots and announce the final result of the referendum.