A poll conducted by the polling firm Zenter shows that sitting president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson enjoys an overwhelming lead over his challengers for the presidential election this June. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV reports that 41% of respondents said they would likely vote for Ólafur in the elections, compared to only 18.3% who said they would vote for his closest competitor.
Read more: Polls: Ólafur Ragnar holds commanding lead for presidential election, more challengers drop out
The poll showed that author and environmental activist Andri Snær Magnason enjoyed the support of 18.3% of respondents, entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir the support of 6.6% and Hrannar Pétursson and Bæring Ólafsson, both of whom have withdrawn their candidacies, enjoyed the support of 1.5% and 1.1% respectively. Other candidates polled at 1% or less. However, nearly 30% remain undecided or refused to pick a candidate.
A second poll, conducted by Gallup, shows 44% of voters are happy with the decision by Ólafur Ragnar to run again, while 43% are unhappy about the decision. According to RÚV those with lower incomes and less education were happier with the decision by Ólafur Ragnar than voters with higher incomes and more education.
The two polls suggest that Ólafur Ragnar enjoys a solid support of roughly 40% of voters, with a nearly equally sized block of voters opposed to his candidacy and a fifth of voters still undecided. Despite enjoying a solid lead over his challengers the election campaign could therefore easily become exciting.
A poll conducted by the polling firm Zenter shows that sitting president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson enjoys an overwhelming lead over his challengers for the presidential election this June. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV reports that 41% of respondents said they would likely vote for Ólafur in the elections, compared to only 18.3% who said they would vote for his closest competitor.
Read more: Polls: Ólafur Ragnar holds commanding lead for presidential election, more challengers drop out
The poll showed that author and environmental activist Andri Snær Magnason enjoyed the support of 18.3% of respondents, entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir the support of 6.6% and Hrannar Pétursson and Bæring Ólafsson, both of whom have withdrawn their candidacies, enjoyed the support of 1.5% and 1.1% respectively. Other candidates polled at 1% or less. However, nearly 30% remain undecided or refused to pick a candidate.
A second poll, conducted by Gallup, shows 44% of voters are happy with the decision by Ólafur Ragnar to run again, while 43% are unhappy about the decision. According to RÚV those with lower incomes and less education were happier with the decision by Ólafur Ragnar than voters with higher incomes and more education.
The two polls suggest that Ólafur Ragnar enjoys a solid support of roughly 40% of voters, with a nearly equally sized block of voters opposed to his candidacy and a fifth of voters still undecided. Despite enjoying a solid lead over his challengers the election campaign could therefore easily become exciting.
