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Iceland Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir - 

Icelanders began voting on Saturday (Sep 25) in an election that could see its unprecedented left-right coalition lose its majority, despite bringing four years of stability after a decade of crises.

With the political landscape more splintered than ever, the process of forming a new coalition could be more complicated than in the past.

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, whose Left-Green Movement had never led a government before, is seeking a second mandate but the large number of parties could stand in her way.

Opinion polls suggest a record nine parties out of 10 are expected to win seats in the Althing, Iceland's almost 1,100-year-old parliament.

That makes it particularly tricky to predict which parties could end up forming a coalition.

First results were expected shortly after polling stations close at 10pm (2200 GMT), but a clear picture was not expected to emerge until Sunday.

Jon Sigurdsson, a 47-year-old entrepreneur, was among the first to cast his ballot in the capital Reykjavik.

"There are a lot of parties threatening to raise taxes and I think that is not the right thing to do. Enough already!" he told AFP, refusing to disclose who he voted for.

During her four-year term, Jakobsdottir has introduced a progressive income tax system, increased the social housing budget and extended parental leave for both parents.

She has also been hailed for her handling of the Covid crisis, with just 33 deaths in the country of 370,000.

But she has also had to make concessions to keep the peace in her coalition, including a promise to create a national park in central Iceland which is home to 32 active volcano systems and 400 glaciers.

This is only the second time since 2008 that a government has made it to the end of its four-year mandate on the sprawling island//CNA