--- description: Iceland's national elections take place on Saturday, and at present, a global anarchist fringe party could be heading for the win title: Iceland's Pirate Party Could Be on Course for Electoral Victory image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d40f5934b4a885e/6988ab312dce0120d09eb249/gettyimages-481594984.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iceland's Pirate Party Could Be on Course for an Electoral Victory by [Dominique Rowe](/author/dominique-rowe/) ## Dominique Rowe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 6:56 AM CUT  Birgitta Jonsdottir, activist member of the Icelandic parliament representing the Pirate Party, stands in front of a sculpture at an Icelandic sculpture park on July 9, 2015 Birgitta Jonsdottir, activist member of the Icelandic parliament representing the Pirate Party, stands in front of a sculpture at an Icelandic sculpture park on July 9, 2015Giles Clarke—Getty Images by [Dominique Rowe](/author/dominique-rowe/) ## Dominique Rowe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 6:56 AM CUT Iceland’s national elections take place on Saturday, and at present, a radical fringe party could be [heading for the win](http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics%5Fand%5Fsociety/2016/10/21/new%5Fpoll%5Fputs%5Fpirates%5Fback%5Fon%5Fcourse%5Fto%5Fwin%5Ficeland/ "undefined"). One in five Icelanders favor the [Pirate Party](https://pp-international.net/about-ppi/ "undefined"), according to an online opinion poll run by the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Iceland, the _Iceland Monitor_ reports. The results of the poll put the Pirates in the lead with 22.6%, ahead of the incumbent center-right Independence party by one and a half points. From its beginnings in the radical margins four years ago, to its position at the center point — and counterpoint — of mainstream Icelandic politics today, the rise of Iceland’s Pirate Party has been short and sharp. “It’s a people’s movement,” founder Birgitta Jonsdottir, a web designer and former WikiLeaks activist, [told ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/iceland-a-land-of-vikings-braces-for-a-pirate-party-takeover/2016/10/23/f1bfe992-9540-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6%5Fstory.html "undefined")the Washington _Post_ in a video interview. “Ordinary people being able to go into parliament and change laws that were actually give other people more power. It’s a message of hope.” Iceland’s Pirate Party is part of a global political movement that [first began](http://piratar.is/en/ "undefined") in Sweden in 2006 to bring about digital-copyright reform. According to the _Post,_ the party’s political leanings are neither right nor left and policy is vague, focusing on direct democracy, civil rights, transparency and public access to information. In 2013, three members of Iceland’s Pirate Party were elected to parliament — making Iceland the only country in the world to have members of the Pirate movement in government. “The Pirates are promising people a new kind of politics,” Professor Ragnheidur Kristjansdottir of the University of Iceland [told the](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/iceland-a-land-of-vikings-braces-for-a-pirate-party-takeover/2016/10/23/f1bfe992-9540-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6%5Fstory.html "undefined") _Post._ “Less corrupt politics where people can participate in a more direct way.” \[[_Iceland Monitor_](http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics%5Fand%5Fsociety/2016/10/21/new%5Fpoll%5Fputs%5Fpirates%5Fback%5Fon%5Fcourse%5Fto%5Fwin%5Ficeland/ "undefined"), [_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/iceland-a-land-of-vikings-braces-for-a-pirate-party-takeover/2016/10/23/f1bfe992-9540-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6%5Fstory.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4542109/iceland-pirate-party-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4542109/iceland-pirate-party-election/"},"headline":"Iceland's Pirate Party Could Be on Course for an Electoral Victory","datePublished":"2016-10-24T06:56:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:37:54.314Z","description":"A new poll says the radical fringe party is leading with 22.6%","url":"https://time.com/4542109/iceland-pirate-party-election/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Iceland"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d40f5934b4a885e/6988ab312dce0120d09eb249/gettyimages-481594984.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dominique Rowe","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dominique-rowe/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d40f5934b4a885e/6988ab312dce0120d09eb249/gettyimages-481594984.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iceland MP Birgitta Jonsdottir at Home","caption":"Iceland MP Birgitta Jonsdottir at Home","creditText":"Giles Clarke—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4542109/iceland-pirate-party-election/","name":"Iceland's Pirate Party Could Be on Course for an Electoral Victory"}}]}] ```