1979 Icelandic parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 2 and 3 December 1979. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Lower House of the Althing, winning 14 of the 40 seats.

1979 Icelandic parliamentary election

2 and 3 December 1979
All 40 seats in the Lower House and 20 seats in the Upper House of Althing
Turnout	89.34%
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Upper House Independence Geir Hallgrímsson 35.42 7 +1 Progressive Steingrímur Hermannsson 24.94 6 +2 People's Alliance Lúdvik Jósepsson 19.72 4 −1 Social Democratic Benedikt Gröndal 17.44 3 −2 Lower House Independence Geir Hallgrímsson 35.42 14 0 Progressive Steingrímur Hermannsson 24.94 11 +3 People's Alliance Lúdvik Jósepsson 19.72 7 −2 Social Democratic Benedikt Gröndal 17.44 7 −2 Independent Voters Eggert Haukdal 1.20 1 New This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Benedikt Gröndal Social Democratic Gunnar Thoroddsen Independence

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Lower House	+/–	Upper House	+/–
	Independence Party	43,838	35.42	14	0	7	+1
	Progressive Party	30,861	24.94	11	+3	6	+2
	People's Alliance	24,401	19.72	7	–2	4	–1
	Social Democratic Party	21,580	17.44	7	–2	3	–2
	Independent Voters in the South	1,484	1.20	1	+1	0	0
	Independent Voters in the North East	857	0.69	0	New	0	New
	Revolutionary Communist League	480	0.39	0	0	0	0
	The Other Party	158	0.13	0	New	0	New
	The Sunshine Party	92	0.07	0	New	0	New
Total		123,751	100.00	40	0	20	0
Valid votes		123,751	97.50
Invalid/blank votes		3,178	2.50
Total votes		126,929	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		142,073	89.34
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

By constituency

Constituency	People's Alliance	Social Democratic	Progressive	Independence	Other
Eastern	31.22%	6.00%	42.94%	19.84%	0.00%
Northeastern	15.93%	13.31%	43.87%	20.52%	6.38%
Northwestern	17.24%	10.71%	43.91%	28.14%	0.00%
Reykjanes	18.29%	24.18%	17.32%	39.85%	0.36%
Reykjavík	22.27%	17.77%	14.83%	43.82%	1.30%
Southern	14.92%	14.83%	32.44%	23.46%	14.34%
Westfjords	15.03%	22.10%	30.60%	32.27%	0.00%
Western	16.04%	15.53%	37.49%	30.93%	0.00%
Source: Constituency Level Election Archive