2016 Velkanian general election

**General elections** were held in the Velkanian Isles on 7 November 2016. As written in the constitution of the Velkanian Isles, general elections should be held every four years, without interruption, on the first Monday of November. Election Day is considered a national holiday in the Velkanian Isles, with Velkanians being off from both work and school, with a number of businesses also choosing to close for the day.

Due to the popularity of Síf María Vílhelmsdætr and the Liberal-Democrats, most polling saw them increase their seats by a large amount, some polls even showing the Liberal-Democrats winning an outright majority. Following the election, the Liberal-Democrats received an outright majority in the Stádlink, while almost all other parties saw a decrease in seats. Ingibjörg Bryndís Brímisdætr and the Independence and Reform Party were the only other party to see an increase in their seats, going from 2 seats to 11 seats and becoming tied for the third-largest party in the Stádlink along with the Social Democrats. Unnur Skuggisdætr and the Conservative Party of the Velkanian Isles were commonly seen as the biggest losers of the election, losing 10 seats. Due to the poor performance, there were calls on Unnur to resign as party leader, although she refused to do so and reaffirmed her belief that with policy reform the party would be able to win back their seats in subsequent elections.

Additionally, the Green-Agrarians and their dual leaders Fúsi Bastíansson and Gunnrún Úlla Jörvarsdætr suffered a big loss after losing the second-highest number of seats and falling out of their previous governing coalition with the Liberal-Democrats, now having to enter the opposition. Síf María was appointed by Ragnhildur IV to lead the new government on 1 December 2016. As they had won an outright majority, there was no coalition building needed, and Síf María formed the first single-party government since Knörr Geirmundursson and the Conservatives throughout the 1980s.

## Electoral system

The 105 members of the Stádlink are elected via open-list proportional representation in six multi-member constituencies. The number of seats allocated to each constituency corresponds with the constituency's overall population; no constituency can have less seats than 10, while no constituency can have more seats than 35 – this results in an overrepresentation of smaller constituencies and an underrepresentation of larger constituencies. Each party composes a complete party list for each constituency, and while voters can mark preferential votes for certain candidates, these have no effect on the actual results. Because of this system, candidates at the top of lists have a much greater chance at receiving seats, while candidates at the bottom of lists have almost no chance.

## Results

The Liberal-Democratic Party retained its position as the Stádlink's largest party, expanding its seat count from 43 to 54, a massive victory. It continued its government, but now having an absolute majority, ended its coalition with the Green-Agrarian Party. The Green-Agrarian Party suffered a large defeat, going from 10 seats to 6. The Conservative Party also lost many seats, going from 30 to 20. The other major winner was the Independence and Reform Party, who went from being the smallest party in the Stádlink with only 2 seats, to the third-largest with 11 seats. The Social Democratic Party, Fors People Party, and Left Party all suffered minor defeats and lost seats.

## Government formation

After securing an outright majority in the Stádlink, the Liberal-Democrats had no need to begin coalition talks and secured a single-party government. Party leader Síf María Vílhelmsdætr began nominating her candidates for ministerial positions on 15 November 2016, and concluded on 28 November. The government was officially appointed by Ragnhildur IV on 1 December 2016.