Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland Saturday as the nation tries to overcome a political scandal that has provoked anger among voters.
Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, a member of the center-right Independence Party, called the election last month after a member of the three-party center-right coalition resigned over a legal conflict involving his father.
The political landscape on the island has also been rattled by the implication of several politicians and members of the financial elite in the Panama Papers scandal that exposed worldwide tax evasion networks.
The scandals led to the collapse of the government, prompting the second snap parliamentary election in a year.
Iceland recovered spectacularly from the 2008 financial crisis, which forced the country into near bankruptcy. But the scandals have fueled anger and distrust among voters, who are increasingly concerned about inequality and immigration – threatening one of the world's most homogeneous countries.
Polls indicate there may not be a clear winner in Saturday's elections, a development that would trigger complex negotiations to build a coalition government.
Twelve parties are vying for seats in the 63-member parliament, one of the oldest in the world. The ruling center-right Independence Party and the Left Green Movement, which is offering Katrin Jakobsdottir as a candidate for prime minister, are about even in the polls
