By Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Iceland’s ruling left-right coalition strengthened its majority after a national election that for the first time saw more women than men elected to parliament, final results showed on Sunday.

According to RUV, opinion polls predicted that the coalition would lose a majority. However, a rise in support for Progressive (NYSE) Party, which gained five more seats than 2017, pushed it to 37 seats within the 63-seat Althingi parliament.

According to state broadcaster RUV, the current government includes Prime Minister Katrin Jansdottir’s Left-Green Movement and conservative Independence Party. The centerist-agrarian Progressive Party said that they would continue cooperation if the majority was retained.

Iceland voters elected 33 female members to the parliament, up 24 from last year. A March World Economic Forum (WEF), report ranked Iceland as the country with the highest gender equality for the 12th consecutive year.

The Progressive Party is led by Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, who served as prime minister for less than a year in 2016, when former prime minister and then-party leader Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepped down following Panama Paper leaks.

Although President Gudni Johannsson is yet to hand over a mandate, the party responsible for forming the next cabinet has already been authorized.

In parliament, the Conservative Independence Party was the dominant party with almost a quarter of the vote and 16 seats. The result is the same as the last election.

Although the Left-Green Movement won eight seats in parliament, compared to eleven in 2017, two members of the party left shortly afterwards.