Iceland will have a male-majority parliament, recount shows

CORRECTION: A PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS STORY REPORTED THAT WOMEN HAD WON A MAJORITY OF ICELAND'S PARLIAMENTARY SEATS BASED ON FINAL ELECTION RESULTS. BUT A RECOUNT SHOWED THAT MEN REMAIN THE MAJORITY IN ICELAND'S PARLIAMENT.

Celebrations in Iceland Sunday came to a halt after a recount showed voters did not elect the first majority woman parliament, as had previously been reported.

Thirty women were elected to the 63-seat parliament in Saturday's election, up from 24 in the previous vote. Earlier results before the recount late on Sunday had shown 33 women were elected.

The National Electoral Commission has not published the results on its website and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Only three countries - Rwanda, Cuba and Nicaragua - have more women than men in parliament, while Mexico and the United Arab Emirates have a 50/50 split, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The island of 371,000 people was ranked the most gender-equal country in the world for the 12th year running in a World Economic Forum report released in March.

The overall election result saw the current left-right coalition government retain its control.

The coalition’s three parties - the Left-Green Movement, the conservative Independence Party and the Progressive Party - said before the election that they would negotiate continued cooperation if they held their majority.