Bjarni Benediktsson Iceland president tasks conservative leader with forming govt "My decision is to give the chairman of the Independence Party the power to form a government that has a majority in the parliament,"

Iceland's conservative leader Bjarni Benediktsson has been invited to form a new government after snap elections on Saturday
(AFP/File) 

Iceland's president on Wednesday tasked conservative leader Bjarni Benediktsson with forming a new government after snap elections on Saturday triggered by the Panama Papers scandal.

"My decision is to give the chairman of the Independence Party the power to form a government that has a majority in the parliament," President Gudni Johannesson told reporters, referring to Benediktsson.

He added Benediktsson had not been officially chosen as prime minister.