Proposal to restart EU membership negotiations in Iceland rejected in referendum

In Iceland, the government's proposal to restart membership negotiations with the European Union (EU) was rejected by voters in the referendum vote completed today.

According to the data reported by the public broadcaster RÚV and shared by the Reuters agency, according to the first 188 thousand 500 votes counted from approximately 270 thousand registered voters, 52.5 percent of the public voted against the negotiations, while "Yes" votes remained at 47.5 percent.

According to the results from the electoral districts finalized during the counting process, the "Yes" front received 57.5 percent support in the north of the capital Reykjavik and 54.5 percent support in the south.

On the other hand, "No" votes were ahead by a significant margin in rural and coastal regions. The "No" rate was finalized as 60.5 percent in the South region, 61.2 percent in the Northeast region and 62.9 percent in the Northwest region.

It was reported that with the "No" votes leading in the southwestern constituency, it became technically impossible for the remaining votes to change the result.

Following the developments, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and Minister of Education and Children Inga Sæland announced that they would hold a press conference.

Stating that he hoped that the results would not divide the society, Prime Minister Frostadóttir stated that there are serious concerns especially in rural areas regarding agriculture, fisheries and natural resources.

Frostadóttir announced that in case of a "No" vote in the referendum, the EU accession process will definitely not be on the agenda again during his government's term.

Referring to the polarization experienced during the campaign period and the threats against Foreign Minister Gunnarsdóttir, the Prime Minister noted that security conditions for politicians have changed, but generally the public behaves prudently.