1998 Velkanian general election

An election was held in the Velkanian Isles on 14 March 1998 to elect all members of the Orthing. Parliament decided the election's date after passing legislation on 28 November 1997, with the election being constitutionally mandated to fall between 1 February and 30 April 1998.
==Date==
On 28 November 1997, the Orthing passed legislation to hold the election on 14 March 1998. The Velkanian constitution mandates that all scheduled elections be held four years following the previous, between the first of the preceding month and the last of the succeeding month. This meant that the election could have been held between 1 February and 30 April 1998. The Velkanian constitution also allows for snap elections.
==Electoral system==
The 105 members of the Orthing are elected at-large, with the Velkanian Isles having no individual electoral constituencies. Prior to the election, each party that is standing creates an electoral list of 105 candidates. All members of the electoral list must also have an assigned deputy should they be elected to parliament and subsequently resign; this prevents any seat from being vacant during a legislative term.
During the election, each voter casts their vote for one of the party lists. The system uses closed lists, meaning no voter can vote across lists or cross off names from the list they are voting for. Seats are then allocated using the d'Hondt method, with a 5% electoral threshold.
Only Velkanian citizens who are aged 17 and older on the day of the election may vote, while only Velkanian citizens aged 18 and older who have resided in the Velkanian Isles for a continuous period of at least five years may stand as candidates. Voting-eligible Velkanians who are residing abroad may also vote, but their ballots must be mailed-in at least four days prior to the date of the election.
==Contesting parties==
The following parties were represented in parliament following the 1994 snap election.
Name	Name 	Ideology 	Leader 	1994 result	1994 result
 	Independence Party 	National conservatism	Eybjört María Hólmsteinnsdattir	 	
 	Social Democratic Party 	Social democracy 	Jón Eyrík Hreiðmarsson 	 	
 	Centrist Party 	Liberalism 	Helga Gunnbjörnsdattir 	 	
 	Liberal-Conservative Party	Liberal conservatism 	Darri Magnþórsson 	 	
 	Green Party 	Green politics 	Árgeir Sörensson 	 	
 	Women's Party 	Feminism 	Svandís Hjarnarsdattir 	 	
==Results==
 	 	 	 	 	
Party 	Party 	Results	Results	Results	+/–
Party 	Party 	Votes 	% 	Seats 	+/–
 	Independence Party 	208,667	48.7% 	53 	
 	Social Democratic Party 	82,074 	19.1% 	20 	
 	Centrist Party 	46,113 	10.8% 	11 	
 	Liberal-Conservative Party	40,617 	9.5% 	10 	
 	Green Party 	23,749 	5.5% 	6 	
 	Women's Party 	21,852 	5.1% 	5 	
 	Others/uncommitted 	5,612 	1.3% 	0 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Total 	Total 	428,684	100% 	105 	0
Registered voters/turnout	Registered voters/turnout 	 	75.9% 	— 	—
==Aftermath==
Velkanian Isles
Election
Election 1998