althingi

# Alþingi — Parliament XML **Requires:** Tier 0 (core). Open XML feeds from the Alþingi database: every MP since 1875, per-MP roll-call votes, the parliamentary matter catalogue, committee membership, speeches, ministerial appointments and consultation submissions. ## API **Base URL:** `https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/` No authentication, no rate limit published. Plain `GET`, no query language — each endpoint is a fixed path with query-string filters. Responses are `text/xml; charset=utf-8`. **Send a User-Agent.** The site returns **403 Forbidden** to httpx's default UA. Any identifying string is accepted — sending none, or a default library UA, is the failure mode. `curl` works out of the box, so this bites only when moving from a shell probe to code. Responses are served through Cloudflare and come back `cf-cache-status: HIT` with an `age` of up to ~10 minutes. Combined with the daily refresh, treat anything you read as up to a day old. Data refreshes **once per day** ("Gögnin uppfærast að öllu jöfnu einu sinni á sólarhring"), so there is nothing to gain from polling faster. ### There is no schema Alþingi states outright: *"Ekki er til xml-skema fyrir gögnin, nema Alþingistíðindi"* and *"Framsetningin á gögnunum geta tekið breytingum án fyrirvara"* — no XSD except for Alþingistíðindi, and the shape may change without notice. In practice there is **no schema at all**. The two XSDs the index page links for the record proper — `http://skema.althingi.is/skema/althingi_{gerdabok,raedur}.xsd` — are dead: `skema.althingi.is` returns no DNS answer (checked 2026-08-15, while `www.althingi.is` resolves normally). Do not plan on validating against them. So everything here is shape-by-observation. That is what the health probe guards, and it is why it asserts Icelandic element *names* rather than values. ### Element names are Icelandic Tags are `<þingmaður>`, `<atkvæðagreiðsla>`, `<þingflokkur>`, `<kjördæmi>` — non-ASCII, which is legal XML but unusual. Both `lxml` and stdlib `xml.etree.ElementTree` handle it; this repo uses the stdlib parser, so no new dependency. Parse from **bytes** (`resp.content`), never `resp.text` — the documents carry their own encoding declaration and a `str` input trips `ValueError: Unicode strings with encoding declaration are not supported`. ## Common parameters | Parameter | Applies to | Example | Notes | |-----------|-----------|---------|-------| | `lthing` | most list endpoints | `?lthing=156` | Parliament (löggjafarþing) number | | `dagur` | rosters, votes, speeches | `?dagur=14.2.2013` or `?dagur=20190916` | **Two date formats in the wild** — `D.M.YYYY` for rosters, `YYYYMMDD` for votes/speeches | | `dagar` | votes, speeches | `?dagar=100` | Trailing window in days | | `malnr` | matter detail | `?lthing=156&malnr=1` | Only unique *within* a `málsflokkur` — see caveat 3 | | `nr` | per-person detail | `?nr=1547` | Person id, stable across parliaments | | `nnefnd` | committee members | `?lthing=156&nnefnd=201` | Committee id | ## Endpoints ### Core — what `scripts/althingi.py` fetches | Endpoint | Root element | Purpose | |----------|-------------|---------| | `loggjafarthing/` | `löggjafarþing` | Every parliament 1..N with dates and per-þing index links | | `loggjafarthing/yfirstandandi/` | `löggjafarþing` | The **current** parliament — resolve this at runtime, never hardcode | | `thingmenn/?lthing=N` | `þingmannalisti` | Everyone who sat during þing N (members *and* substitutes) | | `thingmenn/thingmadur/thingseta/?nr=N` | `þingmaður` | **Party + constituency + seat, per parliament.** The only route to party affiliation | | `atkvaedagreidslur/?lthing=N` | `atkvæðagreiðslur` | All vote events of a parliament | | `atkvaedagreidslur/atkvaedagreidsla/?numer=N` | `atkvæðagreiðsla` | One vote **with the per-MP ballot** (`<atkvæðaskrá>`) | | `thingmalalisti/?lthing=N` | `málaskrá` | All matters (bills, resolutions, questions) of a parliament | | `nefndir/nefndarmenn/?lthing=N` | `nefndarmenn` | Committee membership with start/end dates | | `thingfundir/?lthing=N` | `þingfundir` | Sittings: number, title, start/end timestamps | | `raedulisti/?lthing=N` | `ræðulisti` | Speech **metadata** — speaker, times, links. Not the text | ### Also available — documented, not yet scripted | Endpoint | Root element | What it holds | |----------|-------------|---------------| | `thingmenn/thingmadur/?nr=N` | `þingmaður` | One MP: name, birth date, links | | `thingmalalisti/thingmal/?lthing=N&malnr=M` | `þingmál` | A-matter detail: sponsors, stages, documents | | `thingmalalisti/bmal/?lthing=N&malnr=M` | `bmál` | **B-matter detail — a separate route**, see caveat 3 | | `nefndir/?lthing=N` | `nefndir` | Committees active in þing N | | `thingmenn/thingmadur/hagsmunir/?nr=N` | `þingmaður` | **Declarations of interest** — an MP's directorships, shareholdings, paid roles. Joins to `skatturinn` ownership data by company name | | `erindi/?lthing=N` | `erindaskrá` | **Consultation submissions** to committees — the lobbying trail. ~800 KB per parliament | | `erindi/sendandi/?lthing=N` | `sendendur` | Who submitted, aggregated by sender | | `thingmenn/thingmadur/lifshlaup/?nr=N` | `þingmaður` | Biography — education, career, offices | | `thingmenn/thingmadur/nefndaseta/?nr=N` | `þingmaður` | One MP's committee history | | `thingskjol/?lthing=N` | `þingskjöl` | Parliamentary documents index | | `thingskjol/thingskjal/?lthing=N&skjalnr=N` | `þingskjal` | One document | | `samantektir/?lthing=N` | `samantektir` | Plain-language summaries of matters | | `samantektir/samantekt/?lthing=N&malnr=M` | `samantekt` | One summary (often empty — 87 bytes) | | `efnisflokkar/` | `efnisflokkar` | Subject taxonomy, two levels (`yfirflokkur` → `efnisflokkur`) | | `efnisflokkar/efnisflokkur/?lthing=N&efnisflokkur=K` | `efnisflokkar` | Matters in a subject category | | `nefndarfundir/` | `nefndarfundir` | Committee meetings. **Trailing slash required** — without it, 301 to HTML | | `dagskra/thingfundur/?lthing=N&fundur=M` | `dagskráþingfundar` | Order paper for one sitting | | `forsetar/?lthing=N` | `forsetalisti` | Speaker and deputy speakers | | `framsogumenn/?lthing=N` | `framsögumannaskrá` | Committee rapporteurs per matter | | `thingflokkar/?lthing=N` | `þingflokkar` | Parliamentary groups with abbreviations | | `thingflokksformenn/?lthing=N` | `þingflokksformenn` | Group chairs | | `kjordaemi/?lthing=N` | `kjördæmin` | Constituencies | | `radherrar/?dagur=D.M.YYYY` | `ráðherralisti` | Ministers on a given date | | `radherrar/radherraseta/?nr=N` | `einstaklingur` | One person's ministerial terms | | `radherraembaetti/` | `ráðherrar` | Ministerial offices over time | | `saetaskipan/?timi=ISO` | `sætaskipun` | Chamber seating. Seat numbers only — **no party** | ## Historical depth Coverage starts at a different parliament per dataset — this is the first thing to check before any long-run series: | Dataset | From | Roughly | |---------|------|---------| | MPs (`þingmenn`) | þing 1 | 1875 | | Matters, documents, speeches | þing 20 | 1907 | | Committees | þing 74 | 1954 | | Submissions (`erindi`) | þing 111 | 1988 | ## Request examples ```bash # Which parliament is sitting right now curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/loggjafarthing/yfirstandandi/" # Everyone who sat in þing 156 curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/thingmenn/?lthing=156" # One MP's party and constituency, per parliament curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/thingmenn/thingmadur/thingseta/?nr=1261" # A single vote, with every MP's ballot curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/atkvaedagreidslur/atkvaedagreidsla/?numer=67566" # Votes on one matter / on one day / in the last 100 days curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/atkvaedagreidslur/?lthing=150&malnr=1" curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/atkvaedagreidslur/?dagur=20190916" curl -s "https://www.althingi.is/altext/xml/atkvaedagreidslur/?dagar=100" ``` ## Schema ### Vote event — `atkvaedagreidslur/?lthing=N` ```xml <atkvæðagreiðsla málsnúmer='104' þingnúmer='156' málsflokkur='A' atkvæðagreiðslunúmer='67566'> <mál málsnúmer='104' þingnúmer='156' málsflokkur='A'> <málsheiti>ráðstöfun útvarpsgjalds</málsheiti> </mál> <tími>2025-02-18T14:09:52</tími> <fundur>7</fundur> <tegund tegund='as'>Of skammt var liðið frá útbýtingu --- Afbrigði</tegund> <samantekt> <aðferð>atkvæðagreiðslukerfi</aðferð> <já><fjöldi>44</fjöldi></já> <nei><fjöldi>0</fjöldi></nei> <greiðirekkiatkvæði><fjöldi>0</fjöldi></greiðirekkiatkvæði> <afgreiðsla>samþykkt</afgreiðsla> </samantekt> <nánar><xml>.../atkvaedagreidsla/?numer=67566</xml></nánar> </atkvæðagreiðsla> ``` | Field | XML | Type | Example | |-------|-----|------|---------| | `atkvgr_nr` | `@atkvæðagreiðslunúmer` | INT | `67566` — globally unique, the join key | | `thing` | `@þingnúmer` | INT | `156` | | `malsnumer` | `@málsnúmer` | INT | `104` | | `malsflokkur` | `@málsflokkur` | STR | `A` or `B` | | `malsheiti` | `mál/málsheiti` | STR | `ráðstöfun útvarpsgjalds` | | `timi` | `tími` | DATETIME | `2025-02-18T14:09:52` (ISO) | | `fundur` | `fundur` | INT | `7` — sitting number | | `tegund` | `tegund` | STR | What was voted on | | `tegund_kodi` | `tegund/@tegund` | STR | `as`, `v2`, `n2` … | | `adferd` | `samantekt/aðferð` | STR | See vote-method table | | `ja` / `nei` / `greidir_ekki` | `samantekt/{já,nei,greiðirekkiatkvæði}/fjöldi` | INT | Null when no ballot was taken | | `afgreidsla` | `samantekt/afgreiðsla` | STR | `samþykkt` / `fellt` | ### Per-MP ballot — `atkvaedagreidsla/?numer=N` ```xml <atkvæðaskrá> <þingmaður id='1004'><nafn>Arna Lára Jónsdóttir</nafn><atkvæði>já</atkvæði></þingmaður> <þingmaður id='1510'><nafn>Alma D. Möller</nafn><atkvæði>fjarverandi</atkvæði></þingmaður> </atkvæðaskrá> ``` `<atkvæði>` values, with Alþingi's own gloss from the XML comments: | Value | n (þing 156) | Meaning | |-------|---|---------| | `já` | 12,258 | Yes | | `nei` | 1,676 | No | | `greiðir ekki atkvæði` | 1,324 | Abstain — *present in the chamber and pressed the abstain button* | | `fjarverandi` | 3,160 | Absent, not notified — pressed no button | | `boðaði fjarvist` | 482 | Absent, notified — illness, or on parliamentary business | **The abstain string is spaced here and unspaced in the summary block.** The `<samantekt>`/`<niðurstaða>` count element is `<greiðirekkiatkvæði>` (one word); the `<atkvæði>` value inside `<atkvæðaskrá>` is `greiðir ekki atkvæði` (three words). Matching the element spelling against ballot values silently returns nothing — and because plenty of votes are unanimous, a spot check can easily miss it. The distinction between the last two matters: `boðaði fjarvist` is an excused absence, `fjarverandi` is not. Collapsing them loses the signal. ### Vote methods — `aðferð` Observed across þing 156 (598 vote events): | `aðferð` | Count | Carries `<atkvæðaskrá>`? | |----------|-------|--------------------------| | `atkvæðagreiðslukerfi` | 299 | **yes** — electronic voting | | `yfirlýsing forseta/mál gengur` | 297 | no — Speaker's declaration, no ballot | | `nafnakall` | 1 | **yes** — roll call | | `handaupprétting` | 1 | no — show of hands, count only |