Iceland's opposition Social Democrats were ahead in vote counting on Sunday after a snap election prompted by the collapse of the fraught coalition government. With the ballots of more than half of eligible voters counted,

Iceland's centre-left Social Democratic Alliance became the biggest party in a snap election that unseated the ruling coalition of the past seven years, the final count showed on Sunday. The Social Democrats gained 15 seats in the 63-seat parliament with 20.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson dissolved the parliament in October and called the snap election, citing growing disagreements among the three governing parties — his Independence Party, the Progressive Party and the Left-Greens. All three parties in the outgoing government appeared to have lost votes.

Iceland's voters will head to polls on Saturday in a snap election that could potentially steer it towards seeking European Union membership, an issue that has divided the country for years.

Voters in Iceland appeared to have rejected incumbent parties in a parliamentary election , partial results showed Sunday, with a center-left party leading the contest in the North Atlantic island nation.

Iceland’s opposition Social Democrats won snap parliamentary elections as the ruling bloc faced voter discontent with high costs of living and housing shortages.

By Louise Rasmussen, Isabelle Yr Carlsson and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Iceland's centre-left Social Democrats looked on course to win the most votes when polls closed in a snap election on Saturday,