Iceland's Independence Party looking to form next government

Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence Party votes during the parliamentary election in Kopavogur, Iceland October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Geirix

OSLO (Reuters) - Iceland's centre-right Independence Party said it would try to form the country's next government in what are expected to be complex negotiations, after it emerged as the top party in Saturday's general election, upsetting the Pirates party's plans to take power. "We have the most support ... So I'd say yes," Bjarni Benediktsson told Reuters when asked whether he considered his party to be the winner. He said he would prefer to form a three-party coalition, but declined to say with whom. President Gudni Johannesson has yet to officially hand the mandate to the party that will be tasked with forming the next government. Current Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson of the Progressive Party told Reuters he would meet with the president later today and said it would be "natural" for the President to look to The Independence Party. (Reporting by Zoe Robert, writing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Larry King)