2002 Velkanian general election

An election was held in the Velkanian Isles on 13 April 2002 to elect all members of the Orthing. Parliament decided the election's date after passing legislation on 8 January 2002, with the election being constitutionally mandated to fall between 1 February and 30 April 2002.
==Date==
On 8 January 2002, the Orthing passed legislation to hold the election on 13 April 2002. 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 2002. 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 1998 election.
Name	Name 	Ideology 	Leader 	1998 result	1998 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 	Jóngeir Steinþórsson 	 	
 	Green Party 	Green politics 	Árgeir Sörensson 	 	
 	Women's Party 	Feminism 	Svandís Hjarnarsdattir 	 	
The following parties were not represented in parliament in the results of the 1998 election, but received seats in the 2002 election:
*Green-Socialist Party (Eco-socialism)
*People's Party (Social liberalism)
==Results==
 	 	 	 	 	
Party 	Party 	Results	Results	Results	+/–
Party 	Party 	Votes 	% 	Seats 	+/–
 	Independence Party 	93,335 	21.2% 	23 	
 	Social Democratic Party 	91,830 	20.9% 	22 	
 	Centrist Party 	72,739 	16.6% 	18 	
 	Green-Socialist Party 	72,414 	16.5% 	18 	
 	People's Party 	55,166 	12.6% 	13 	
 	Liberal-Conservative Party	45,992 	10.5% 	11 	
 	Others/uncommitted 	7,406 	1.7% 	0 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Total 	Total 	438,882	100% 	105 	0
Registered voters/turnout	Registered voters/turnout 	 	76.6% 	— 	—
==Aftermath==
Velkanian Isles
Election
Election 2002