Iceland To Hold Early Election On April 25

Parliament would be dissolved at the end of March or no later than April 4, spokesman Kristjan Kristjansson said.

Iceland's interim government has called an early parliamentary election for April 25, a spokesman for Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said on Tuesday.

Parliament would be dissolved at the end of March or no later than April 4, spokesman Kristjan Kristjansson said.

Sigurdardottir's centre-left coalition government was established on Feb. 1 after the government of Prime Minister Geir Haarde collapsed amid public protests over its failure to prevent a financial crisis that smashed the island's economy.

Central bank chief David Oddsson has refused to step down despite calls from the prime minister and the public for him to quit over his role in Iceland's financial collapse.

Sigurdardottir told a media briefing she hoped the central bank would have new leadership by the time an International Monetary Fund mission arrives in Reykjavik on Thursday to review Iceland's $2.1 billion loan agreement, Kristjansson said.

The interim government is hoping to pass a central bank reform bill as soon as possible. The two other people in the three-person team of central bank governors have announced their resignations.

Iceland's banking system imploded last year under the weight of billions of dollars of debt accumulated from years of overseas expansion and trade in its crown currency virtually ceased.

An early victim of the global financial crisis, Iceland has received a financial aid package totalling $10 billion. The IMF deal was negotiated by the Haarde government.