Photo: © 2010 AP via AAP/Focke Strangmann

The six-month-old party took out 34.7 per cent of votes in Saturday's election, a sign of the country's deep discontent with its political leaders.

"I have never seen anything like this," Olafur Hardasson, a professor of political science at the University of Iceland, says.

“I think we have to see these elections as the public's general expression of discontent with politicians, the political parties and the political circumstances we've had recently.”

Comedian Jon Gnarr insists his party is no joke, despite campaigning for free towels in city swimming pools, palm trees for the city's nippy waterfront and the addition of a polar bear for the city’s zoo.

"The Best Party has many layers," he says.

"Publicly we often behave like clowns, but we are actually very bright people."

The party also includes a member of Bjork's old band, the Sugarcubes.