With 80% of Ballots Counted Independence Party Leads Icelandic Elections

With almost 80 percent of the ballots counted, the Independence Party is in the first place in the Icelandic parliamentary elections with about 30 percent of the votes, according to the country's Central Election Commission (CEC).

REYKJAVIK (Sputnik) — The Left-Green Movement is in the second place with 16.8 percent of the votes. The Pirate Party, which the earlier polls showed as the possible dark horse of these elections, is in the third place with 13.8 percent.

"With 79.5 percent of the ballots counted, the Independence Party is in the lead. It has 30.1 percent of the votes," the CEC told RIA Novosti.

The Pirate Party leader Birgitta Jonsdottir told RIA Novosti that the later results included the votes from the traditionally conservative Icelandic villages. She stressed that a good number of the Pirate Party members would still be able to gain seats in the parliament, which was a satisfying result.

The newly formed Regeneration Party is in the fourth place with 10.7 percent of the votes.

The former ruling Progressive Party has only 9.3 percent, reflecting its loss of popularity after the release of the Panama Papers revealing corruption in Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson’s government.