Iceland holds early parliamentary elections

​​​​​​​By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Voters in Iceland are headed to the polls Saturday for snap parliamentary elections, with possible EU membership for the country emerging as a central issue.

The elections follow the Oct. 13 announcement by Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson that the coalition government had collapsed due to disputes over foreign policy, asylum seekers, and energy. As a result, the Althingi, or parliament, was dissolved, and Nov. 30 was announced as the date for the elections.

Icelanders are voting to elect lawmakers to the 63-seat Althingi to four-year terms. The coalition government, which included the Left-Green Movement, the center-right Progressive Party, and the right-wing Independence Party, had been in power since the 2017 elections.

A Gallup survey last month found that support for the coalition government had fallen to an all-time low of 24.6%, contributing to the call for early elections.

Possible EU membership for Iceland has become one of the top issues in campaigning, particularly due to the positions of the Social Democratic Alliance and Reform Party, which have been gaining support in opinion polls.

Polls will close at 1700GMT, but polling stations must remain open for at least five hours. If all registered voters cast ballots earlier, the stations can close sooner, according to public broadcaster RUV.