What is being voted on?
Article 20 of the VR addresses elections to the leadership of the union. In the general election in 2026, seven seats on the Board will be elected for a one-year term through individual elections. At the same time, 41 seats on the Consultative Council will be elected for a one-year term through list elections, if a counter-list is submitted against the union’s Nomination Committee list.
The deadline for candidacies is 12:00 noon, Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
One-year term of office 2026–2027
Please note that the term of office is now one year, 2026–2027. At the Annual General Meeting in 2024, it was approved to extend the term of office of principal members of the VR Board from two years to four years, and that of alternate members from one year to two years. The term of office of the VR Consultative Council was also extended from two years to four years. At the same time, a transitional provision was approved in the bylaws regarding exceptions in the 2026 elections so that elections from the year 2027 onwards will comply with the decision on longer terms of office. In the 2026 elections, seven seats on the principal Board will therefore be elected for a one-year term. No election will be held for the alternate Board. Furthermore, 41 seats on the Consultative Council will be elected through list elections for a one-year term.
How to stand for election?
According to Article 5 of the VR bylaws, all full members enjoy eligibility for positions of trust within the union, with the exceptions specified in Article 3 of the bylaws. According to that article, youths aged 15 and under, self-employed persons in the labour market, and those who have ceased working due to age or disability do not enjoy eligibility.
Attention is also drawn to the fact that according to Article 11 of the VR bylaws Board members shall work within VR’s occupational field, be legally competent, fulfil general eligibility requirements, and must not have, in the past five years, received a conviction for a criminal offence. Board members may not own more than a 5% share in a limited company operating within the occupational field of the union. The same applies even if their ownership share is below 5%, if a spouse or children hold a controlling interest in such a company. Board members may not be employed as managing directors, as the legal status of managing directors is considered equivalent to that of employers. Candidates for the Board must, on the basis of this statutory provision, submit with their nominations a completed form with information on eligibility as well as related parties; see below.
Submission of nomination documents
Written endorsements from 15 VR members are required for an individual nomination to the Board. For a nomination list to the Consultative Council that is submitted against the list of VR’s nomination committee to be validly submitted, written endorsements from 1% of VR members, or 422, are required, as well as written consent from the candidates on the list. Elections are held for 41 seats on the Consultative Council.
Templates for endorsement forms can be accessed below, as well as the form regarding eligibility and related parties. It is possible to complete the forms online and print them out, but they must be submitted signed to the Election Committee.
Links to forms
Attention is drawn to the fact that nominations must be accompanied by information on the names and identification numbers (kennitala) of candidates. Furthermore, the Election Committee requests that nominations include information on telephone numbers and email addresses of candidates for the Board and list representatives.
Nominations, together with a sufficient number of endorsements and other documents, shall be submitted to the VR Election Committee, either electronically to the email address kjorstjorn@vr.is (scanned documents) or at the VR office, Húsi verslunarinnar, Kringlunni 7, 103 Reykjavík, marked VR Election Committee.
February 4, 2026
VR Election Committee