The majority of Icelanders want to have early general elections because of the grave economic crisis, according to a poll published in Reykjavik on Tuesday.
The poll, published by the Icelandic daily Frettabladid, showed that almost 64 percent of participants were in favor of new general elections to be held next spring or sooner, while 29.3 percent want to have the general elections as normal in 2011.
In the Icelandic parliament on Monday, a resolution proposal on a vote of no confidence in the government was rejected with 18 votes for and 42 votes against.
The opposition called in the proposal for early elections to replace the current coalition government, composed of Prime Minister Geir Haarde's Independence Party and the Social Democrats,which together hold 43 seats in parliament.
Iceland has been hard hit by the global financial crisis. Its three biggest banks - Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir - collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars of debts accumulated in an aggressive overseas expansion. The collapse shattered the currency and forced Iceland to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries. Source:Xinhua
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