Iceland voted in a presidential election Saturday expected to see newcomer Gudni Johannesson waltz to victory with voters angry at the establishment - though more excited about the country's Euro football debut. Johannesson, a 47-year-old history professor and political commentator who has never held public office, only decided to run after the so-called Panama Papers leak in April which detailed offshore accounts and implicated several senior Icelandic politicians, including the prime minister who was forced to resign.
Johannesson has vowed to restore Icelanders' faith in the system after years of public anger toward politicians for miring the country in scandals and financial woes. The outrage that fuelled mass street protests in April and led to the premier's ouster appeared to have dissipated somewhat in the final days of campaigning, as euphoria erupted over the Icelandic football squad achieving a historic feat at the Euro 2016 football tournament. A North Atlantic island of just 334,000 people, Iceland beat Austria 2-1 on Wednesday to qualify for the last 16 in its Euro debut, facing off against England on Monday. The news dominated the headlines, with only sparse coverage of the looming election.