Icesave Passed in Iceland’s Parliament
The new Icesave legislation was voted on in the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, today at 2 pm. The legislation was passed with 44 votes against 16. Three MPs abstained in the voting. Amendments proposing the matter should be voted on in a national referendum were rejected. Left-Green MPs Lilja Mósesdóttir and Ásmundur Einar Dadason were among those in favor of a referendum, ruv.is reports. The final rounds of discussions on the Icesave bill began yesterday afternoon and continued until late last night. Oddný G. Hardardóttir, chairperson of the Budget Committee, presented the committee’s majority view that the legislation should be passed. The representatives of the Independence Party, the largest opposition party, on the Budget Committee agreed that the legislation should be passed, while the representatives of the Progressive Party and The Movement opposed it. Meanwhile, more than 30,000 people have signed an online petition asking that the parliament reject the legislation or that the president refrains from signing it so that it can be voted on in a referendum.