Iceland Re-elects President as Voters Reject Right-Wing Rival

(Bloomberg) -- Iceland’s president, Gudni Th. Johannesson, won reelection to another four-year term by a landslide as voters rejected his right-wing challenger.

In the first national ballot to be held in western Europe since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Johannesson garnered 92.2% of the vote, while rival Gudmundur Franklin Jonsson got 7.8%, according to local broadcaster RUV. About two thirds of eligible voters cast ballots, with election officials handing out gloves and sanitizer to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Johannesson, who’s championed LGBT rights, was tipped to easily win in polls before the election. Jonsson, a former Wall Street broker, had called the incumbent “too passive” and described U.S. President Donald Trump as a “true leader” who “looks out for his people.”

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