General election takes place on Thursday, 8 December 2022
Here you can read all about the voting procedures, regulations and legislations for the general elections in the Faroe Islands.
Lat aftur
General election Thursday 8 December
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General election 8. December 2022
The Faroese prime minister has called for a general election, which will take place on Thursday, 8 December 2022. Here you can read all about the voting procedures, regulations and legislations for the general election in the Faroe Islands.
You are able to vote by mail until Wednesday, 7 December 2022.
Who can vote?
Voting rights and eligibility
Unless you have been stripped off your eligibility or are under a protective guardianship, you are able to vote if you fulfill these requirements:
- You have turned 18
- You have Faroese residency and Danish citizenship
- You are registered to vote
The voting register will be presented in Snarskivan (The Tórshavn Citizen Service Centre at Vaglið 11 in Tórshavn) from Tuesday, 29 November.
If you fulfill the requirements for voting, you are also eligible for the Faroese Parliament, unless you are convicted for an action that makes you unfit as a member of parliament and this consequence of the conviction has not been dropped.
Non-Faroese citizens and residents with Danish citizenship
Residents without Danish citizenship are not eligible to vote in the general election.
If you have previously held foreign citizenship and have since obtained Danish citizenship, we recommend checking whether you are registered to vote. The National Registration Office (Landsfólkayvirlitið) may not have been made aware of this change which may jeopardize your voting eligibility. It is in most cases too late to make changes of this nature on election day.
The voting register will be presented in Snarskivan (The Tórshavn Citizen Service Centre) as soon as the National Registration Office has released it.
Faroese students who are currently studying abroad can apply to register
Faroese students currently studying abroad, who wish to register to vote in the general election, are allowed to do so provided that:
- they have previously lived in the Faroe Islands and have been registered in the Faroese National Register for at least 5 years altogether
- have been residing outside the Faroe Islands for less than 8 years
Voting registration has to take place within the council where you were last registered. The Municipality of Tórshavn will stop treating applications on 17. November 2022 at 16:00. This means that your application has to have reached the municipal offices some time before closing hours, so that your application can be treated.
If your application has been accepted you will be able to vote by mail-in ballot until Wednesday, 7. December 2022. For further information, we recommend that you read the guide regarding voting by mail under the section »how to vote« below.
Please note, that if you have applied to register you will not be receiving a voting invitation. Instead, you must remember to bring valid proof of identification when you vote by mail. Proof of identification can be either passport or driver’s license.
For further information, please read the legislations regarding general elections as stated in the Laws of Parliament (løgtingslógin).
You must be registered to vote
The voting register will be presented in Snarskivan (The Tórshavn Citizen Service Centre at Vaglið 11 in Tórshavn) from Tuesday, 29 November.
If you are moving to another municipality after 24. November 2022 you will still be registered in the municipality you are moving out of. If you are moving before 24. November 2022 you will be registered in the municipality you are moving to.
How to vote
Voting before election day (vote by mail)
If you are not able to vote on election day you can vote at any municipal office in the Faroe Islands. This is called voting by mail (brævatkvøða).
HOW TO VOTE EARLY
You can vote by mail until Wednesday, 7. December 2022.
You can cast your vote up to 4 months prior to the election if you are a mariner or if you expect not to be in the Faroe Islands on election day. This can be done by showing up at Snarskivan in Tórshavn or at any municipal office in the Faroe Islands. You must bring valid proof of identification.
You can absentee vote up to 1 week before the election if you have an illness or are otherwise prevented from physically showing up at the voting station on election day, which is from the 1. December 2022. You may request to absentee vote by contacting the citizen service centre Snarskivan on 30 20 10. Two appointed election officials will then come to your residence and validate your vote. You must have notified that you will be absentee voting by Wednesday, 7. December at 16:00.
You may also absentee vote if you are admitted to a hospital or a different care facility, or if you receive medical treatment in your home. You can contact your hospital, your care facility or your doctor and request to vote.
You may contact the police to absentee vote if you are currently in police detention and are eligible to vote.
You may vote by mail-in ballot at your nearest Faroese representative services, consulate, or Danish embassy if you are abroad on the election day.
You may vote by mail-in ballot if you are in Denmark or Greenland at places where this procedure takes place, usually at the municipal offices.
SEND IN YOUR VOTE IN GOOD TIME
Please note, that your ballot needs enough time to reach your municipal office before polls open on election day.
For further information on deadlines regarding mail-in voting, please ask the staff at your voting station of choice. Click the link below to find an overview of Danish embassies and consulates, as well as their opening hours, on the Danish Foreign Ministry’s website:
Voting invitation
When the National Registration Office has released the voting register, everyone registered will receive a voting invitation by mail. The voting invitation is your personal proof of eligibility, and you must remember to bring it when you go to the voting station to vote on election day.
VOTING STATIONS
The voting invitation will list your designated voting station. You can find a list of all voting stations in the link below:
ARE YOU VOTING IN HØLLIN Á HÁLSI?
There will be many voters casting their ballots at Høllin á Hálsi. This may cause traffic issues and result in limited parking, as well as long queues. To avoid this we recommend you get there before 15:00 on election day.
WHICH VOTING STATION DO I BELONG TO?
In the upper-left corner on your voting invitation you will see a number. This number represents which station you need to find to receive your ballot, all numbers between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. There will be a sign as you enter Høllin á Hálsi that tells you which station your number belongs to.
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR VOTING INVITATION
You need to contact your municipality’s national register if you are eligible to vote and have not received your voting invitation, or if the voting invitation contains an error.
If you are a resident in the Municipality of Tórshavn you can contact Snarskivan on 30 20 10 or send an email to torshavn@torshavn.fo. Remember to include name and birthday when contacting us by email.
IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR VOTING INVITATION
The election officials at your voting station can issue you a new voting invitation in person on election day. You will need to show your driver’s licence or your passport.
YOU WILL STILL RECEIVE A VOTING INVITATION EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED BY MAIL
You will still receive a voting invitation in the mail prior to the election even if you have voted early.
This will not affect your early vote.
You may change your mind and vote for a new candidate on election day even if you have previously voted early. If you vote in person on the election day, the election committee will securely destroy your early vote, and the early vote will not count in the election results.
Find your voting station
On your voting invitation it says where to cast your ballot, which is the voting station in your area. For the 2022 general election all voting stations will open at 10:00 on election day and close at 20:00, or as soon as all voters in the queue have finished voting.
If you do not know your voting station you can look it up here:
How to vote in person on election day
You must bring your voting invitation to the voting station. If you do not have one and if you are registered you may receive a new one at the voting station. Remember valid identification, either passport or driver’s license.
When you have receive your voting ballot you will proceed into the voting booth. Here you can decide on which political party or candidate to vote for. Please note, that no one else is allowed inside the voting booth.
Remember to mark your ballot correctly when voting. You need to set an X next to the candidate or party you want to vote for. For further information on how to vote, please read this:
After you have marked your ballot, you should fold your ballot so the names are not visible and exit the voting cubicle. Put your ballot into the ballot box while an election official is watching. You are now finished.
If you have cast an early ballot, you may still change your mind and vote in person on election day instead. Your early ballot will then be securely destroyed and will not count in the election result.
IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE TO VOTE
If you are unable to vote on your own and need assistance, you need to contact a member of staff at the voting station. You are allowed to require assistance both inside and outside the voting station, for example by car. You may also require that the people assisting you are of your own choice. However, regardless of assistance you must be able to clearly state what you will be voting.
Who can I vote for?
The final list of candidates will be presented to the public shortly before election day. You will be able to see the list of candidates on this website when they are announced.
Each political party’s list of addresses, web pages and other forms of contact can be found her:
Timeline for the general election
8 August - Early voting opens for mariners or absent voters
Mariners and other voters, who will be absent on election day can cast their vote from 8 August 2022 up until 7 December.
10 November - Final call to register new political parties
The Minister of the Faroese Government needs to be notified of any new political parties running for election before 10 November 2022 at 18:00.
17 November - No further treatment of Faroese students abroad applying to register
This is the final date the local municipalities will be treating applications regarding Faroese students abroad wanting to register to vote.
29 November - Voting registers are available for public inspection
Your local municipal office will make the voting register available for public inspection at the least 4 weeks prior to the election. The voting register lists all registered voters to the municipal election. The local municipal office will usually release the information about where to inspect the voting register 5 weeks prior to the election.
In the Municipality of Tórshavn you can inspect the voting register at the Citizen Service Centre Snarskivan at Vaglið 11 in Tórshavn.
1 December - Absentee voting opens
You may cast your absentee vote 1 week before the election day if you are prevented from physically showing up to vote at the voting station on the election day.
If your home address is in the Municipality of Tórshavn, you can contact the Citizen Service Centre (Snarskivan) on 30 20 10 and request to vote from home. Two representatives from the election committee will then come to your home to validate your vote.
If you are admitted to a hospital or another care facility, or receive medical care in your own home, you may also request to vote at the hospital, care facility or doctor's office.
If you are receiving medical treatment in the Municipality of Tórshavn, but your home address is in another municipality, you should contact your own municipality and ask your municipality to help you vote in absentia.
You can absentee vote from 1 December to 7 December.
Please note, that absentee voting has to be reported to Snarskivan by 7 December at 16:00. This is the same deadline for voting by mail.
7 December - Absentee voting closes
7. December is the deadline for absentee voting.
Please note, that if you live outside the municipality of Tórshavn and you cast your vote in Snarskivan your ballot will be sent by mail to your local municipality. If the ballot does not reach your voting station by 10:00 on election day, then your vote will be invalid.
8 December - Election day
You can vote in person at your voting station on the election day.
Your voting station will be listed on your voting invitation, which you will have received in the mail 2 weeks prior to the election.
All voting stations open at 10:00 and close at 20:00. Voting stations will however remain open until the last person in the queue has finished voting.
Poll workers and voting inspectors will be present at the voting stations to ensure that the election proceeds correctly.
When the voting stations have closed, the poll workers will start counting the votes. The election results will be reported live at the voting station, in the radio, on television and online. The election results are usually known before midnight on the election day.
Filing a complaint about the election
If you have any complaints regarding the election this needs to be filed to the administrative offices of the Faroese Parliament within 10 bank days after election day.
However, you may be able to file a complaint to the municipal offices instead, if:
- you have not been registered to vote
- you are aware of someone getting falsely registered
- you have not received a ballot, or if your ballot contains any mistakes
The local authorities are required to treat your complaint quickly.
Legislation
Law on election for the Faroese Parliament
You can find the law on the general election for the Faroese Parliament (Føroya Løgting) here: