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Municipal Election 2020

The municipal election will be held on November 10th. Read all about the election here.

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Municipal Election 2020

The municipal election is happening soon. This page will provide you the information about how to vote and which Coronavirus precautions to take when voting. It will also inform you about the voting procedures, regulations and legislations for municipal elections.

The municipal elections in the Faroe Islands will be held Tuesday November 10th, 2020. All municipalities in the Faroe Islands will hold elections for their City Councils or Town Councils.

Residents in the Municipality of Tórshavn will also be able to vote for the members of the School Boards and the Local Committees in the same election.

Between 80% and 90% of all eligible voters in the Faroe Islands cast their votes in the national and municipal elections. Seats in the national and municipal elections have often been determined by less than ten votes and sometimes by one single vote, so your vote is very important and will have a big influence on Faroese politics.

Who can vote?

Voting rights and eligibility

All residents in the Faroe Islands, who have the right to vote and are registered as voters can vote at the municipal elections.

You are eligible to vote and run for office if you:

are 18 years or older and meet the requirements of voting rights and eligibility to run for national office
are registered in the national register of your municipality at least 2 weeks ahead of election day
are registered as living in the municipality on the election day

If you are not a Danish citizen, you must have been a permanent resident in the Faroe Islands for at least 3 years prior to the election day to be eligible to vote in a municipal election.

Non-Faroese citizens

Municipal elections (kommunuval)

If you are a non-Faroese citizen, you are eligible to vote and run for office in a municipal election if you have been a permanent resident in the Faroe Islands for the last 3 years prior to the election day.

You do not need to have Danish citizenship.

You need to be registered to vote in your municipality at least 2 weeks before the election day and be living in the municipality on the election day to be eligible to vote.

Faroese national elections (løgtingsval) and Danish national elections (fólkatingsval)

Residents need to have Danish citizenship in order to run for office or vote for in the Faroese or Danish national elections.

Every 4 years Faroese residents elect 33 members to the Faroese Løgting and 2 Faroese members to the Danish Fólkating.

The last Faroese national election was in August 2019, and the last Danish national election was in June 2019.

Faroese expats are not eligible to vote in municipal elections

Faroese citizens, who are registered as living abroad, are not eligible to vote in municipal elections.

Faroese students abroad are also not eligible to vote in municipal elections.

This is due to not meeting the requirements of being registered as living in the municipality at least 2 weeks prior to the election, and still be living in the municipality on election day.

The legislation regarding municipal elections and national elections are available in the links below:

Voting legislation for Faroese municipalities (logir.fo) - in Faroese

Voting legislation for the Faroese Parliament (logir.fo) - in Faroese

You need to be registered to vote

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, and public persons are entitled to check the register until 2 weeks prior to the election.

You will automatically receive a voting invitation in the mail if you meet the requirements for voting in the municipal elections and you are registered to vote. Contact your local citizen service centre if you have not received your voting invitation.

You will not be eligible to vote in any municipality if you move to a different municipality less than 2 weeks before the municipal election day.

Find your voting station

Your voting station will be mentioned on the voting invitation that you will have received in the mail.

You may vote early at the Citizen Service Centre (Snarskivan) in Tórshavn if you are unable to vote in person on the election day.

You will find a map of all the voting stations in the Municipality of Tórshavn below:

iFrames understøttes ikke på denne side.

Find more information below if you have any questions about your voting station or if you have not yet received your voting invitation 2 weeks prior to the election.

Voting stations

Voting station addresses

Høllin á Hálsi (The Grey sports centre In Tórshavn)

Hallarheygur 4
100 Tórshavn

Skúlin á Argjahamri (the school á argjahamri)

Glyvursvegur 44
160 Argir

Kaldbaks Skúli (the school in Kaldbak)

Krossgøta 13
180 Kaldbak

Skótahúsið í Kollafirði (the scout centre in Kollafjørður)

Botnavegur 3
410 Kollafjørður

Skúlin á Velbastað (The school in Velbastaður)

Norðuri á Heyggi 19
176 Velbastaður

Bygdastovan í Hesti (the town hall in Hestur)

Reynið 6
280 Hestur

Ungmannafelagshúsið í Nólsoy (the youth organisation house in Nólsoy)

Á Mýrini
270 Nólsoy

Voting station opening hours

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.

Which voting station should you vote at?

Residents in Tórshavn, Norðradalur, Hoyvík, Koltur, Hvítanes and Sund vote at the grey sports centre in Tórshavn (Ítróttarhøllin á Hálsi)
Residents in Argir vote at the school á Argjahamri
Residents in Kaldbak and Kaldbaksbotnur vote at the school in Kaldbak
Residents in Kollafjørður vote at the scout centre in Kollafirði
Residents in Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður and Syðradalur vote at the school in Velbastaður
Residents in Hestur vote at the town hall in Hestur (bygdastovan í Hesti)
Residents in Nólsoy vote at the youth organisation house (ungmannafelagshúsið í Nólsoy)

Trýst á myndina

How to vote

How to vote early

MARINERS AND EARLY VOTING

You can cast your vote up to 4 months before the election if you are a mariner or you expect not to be at home in the Faroe Islands on the election day. This you can do by showing up at the Citizen Service Centre (Snarskivan) in Tórshavn. You must bring a picture ID or a passport to cast your vote.

ABSENTEE

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 the election day. You may request to absentee vote by contacting the Citizen Service Centre on +298 30 20 10. Two appointed election officials will then come to your residence and validate your vote.

The day before election day, that is Monday November 9th, you can absentee vote at the Citizen Service Centre (Snarskivan) until 22:00.

If you are prevented from showing up at the Citizen Service Centre to cast your vote, you can call the hotline outside regular opening hours and make an appointment in order for two of our appointed election officials to come to your residence and validate your vote.

The hotline can be reached at + 298 26 34 09, and will be answering calls until Monday November 9th at 22.00.

The deadline for absentee voting is Monday November 9th at 24.00.

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.

MAIL-IN BALLOT

You may cast a mail-in ballot at your nearest Faroese representation, consulate, official representative or Danish embassy if you are abroad on the election day.

You may cast a mail-in ballot at your local municipal office in Denmark or Greenland if you are currently in one of those countries and you are eligible to vote.

Be aware that the mail-in ballots need to have reached the Faroe Islands before the election day in order to be valid, so make sure to vote in good time.

How to vote if you are in self-quarantine due to COVID-19

You must not show up at the voting station on November 10th, 2020 if you are in self-quarantine due to having COVID-19 or possibly having been exposed to the virus.

You should instead absentee vote from Tuesday November 3rd, 2020 to Monday November 9th, 2020.

Contact the Citizen Service Centre on +298 30 20 10 to arrange how you can absentee vote while in self-quarantine.

Voting invitation

All eligible voters will receive a personal voting invitation in the mail 2 weeks before the election.

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 STATION

The voting invitation will list your designated voting station. You can find a list of all voting stations in the link below:

Voting stations

IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR VOTING INVITATION

You need to contact your municapility'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 the Citizen Service Centre at +298 30 20 10 or write to torshavn@torshavn.fo.

If the Citizen Service Centre confirms that you are eligible to vote, then you need to find out what your voting station is by contacting the Citizen Service Centre on the election day between 9:00 and 20:00.

When you arrive at your designated voting station on the election day, you will need to show your drivers licence or passport, and the election officials will issue you a new voting invitation.

You may then vote as usual.

IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR VOTING INVITATION

The election officials at your voting station can issue you a new voting invitation in person on the election day. You will need to show your drivers licence or your passport.

You may then vote as usual.

YOU WILL STILL RECEIVE A VOTING INVITATION EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED

You will still receive a voting invitation in the mail 2 weeks 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 the 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 result.

How to vote in person on election day

You need to arrive at your voting station on election day between 10:00 and 20:00 and bring your voting invitation and a picture ID such as your drivers licence or passport.

If you have forgotten, lost or never received your voting invitation, the election officials will issue a new one to you at the voting station.

When you hand in your voting invitation, the poll worker will hand you a ballot with the names of all the candidates. You must enter the voting cubicle on your own without the presence of other people.

You cast your vote by writing one X in the box next to the name of the list you are voting for OR in the box next to the name of the candidate you are voting for. Your ballot may not contain any other mark or scribble. You can ask the poll worker to give you a new, empty ballot if you have made a mistake. Your old ballot will then be securely destroyed.

You can see an example of a correctly filled out ballot here:

How to write on your election ballot

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 the election day instead. Your early ballot will then be securely destroyed and will not count in the election result.

List of candidates

You can see the list of candidates for the 2020 Tórshavn municipal elections here:

List of candidates for the 2020 Tórshavn municipal election - in Faroese

Please note that the "valevni" are the candidates and the "stillarar" are the witnesses, who have nominated the candidates.

The letters of the candidate lists in the Tórshavn municipal elections (A, B, C...) correspond with the letters of the Faroese political parties.

You may vote either for one candidate OR for one list.

The elected members to the City Council usually form a partisan coalition after the results of the election are announced.

How to write on the ballot

Your vote will only count if your ballot only contains one X and no other identifiable words or scribbles.

You may mark your X in the box next to the list of candidates you are voting for OR in the box next to the name of the specific candidate you are voting for.

The link below shows an example of a correctly filled out ballot.

How to write on your election ballot (uvmr.fo)

Timeline for the municipal election

July 10 - early voting opens for mariners or absent voters

Mariners and other voters, who will be absent on the election day can cast their votes from July 10th.

October 13 - voting registers are available for public inspection

The local municipal office will usually release the information about where to inspect the voting register 5 weeks prior to the election.

October 20 - political parties nominate their candidates

In some municipalities the candidates are nominated on party-affiliated lists, and in other municipalities the candidates form a non-partisan list.

In the Municipality of Tórshavn the candidates are usually nominated on party-affiliated lists, and the letters of the lists (A, B, C etc) correlate with the letters of the political parties.

The lists must contain a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 25 nominators, and must contain an appendix with the names, professions, addresses and dates of births of the nominators.

The lists must be handed to the the election inspector or the municipal office before 18:00 at least 3 weeks prior to the election.

The Ministry of Environmental and Industry Affairs has examples of a list of candidates. Find the title »Valevnislisti (vegleiðandi dømi)« in the list to the right and click on it.

Municipal elections - Ministry of Environmental and Industry Affairs (uvmr.fo)

The election committee approves the valid nomination lists and assigns a letter to the lists that will be written before the name of the candidate on the election ballot.

November 3 - 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 +298 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 November 3rd to November 9th.

IF YOU ARE IN SELF-QUARANTINE DUE TO COVID-19

You must not show up at the voting station if you are in self-quarantine due to having COVID-19 or possibly having been exposed to the virus. You should instead absentee vote.

Contact the Citizen Service Centre on +298 30 20 10 to arrange how you can absentee vote while in self-quarantine.

November 9 - absentee voting ends

November 9th is the deadline for absentee voting.

November 10 - election day

You can vote in person at your voting station on the election day, November 10th.

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.

The ballots will be counted at 20:00 or as soon as the last person in the queue has finished voting. The public may under normal circumstances supervise the ballot counting at the voting station from behind a designated barrier. The public is not advised to congregate in public spaces for this election due to Coronavirus precautions.

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.

November 11 - potential recount

The election committee or the City Council may request an immediate recount if the results were very close or if there is suspicion that some votes are counted incorrectly.

The recount must be held at the latest on the day after the election.

The final results will then be published after the recount.

December 2020 - the new City Council forms and appoints the mayor

The newly elected City Council members will meet in December to form the new City Council and appoint the mayor and the vice mayor.

The public does not have a direct influence on who becomes mayor.

The members also forms the Financial Committee and other committees and appoint the chairs of the committees. They also appoint the City Council representatives in the different public committees.

The City Council sits for 4 years from January 1st following the election to December 31st.

Information about the municipal election for non-Faroese residents

Hilmar Høgenni, Head of Section at the Faroese Ministry of Environmental and Industrial Affairs, explains about the municipal election in the Faroe Islands and voting rights and eligibility of non-Faroese residents.

Election results

The election results from the previous municipal elections, Faroese national elections and Danish national elections back to 1998 are available on the website of Kringvarp Føroya, the Faroese national broadcasting service.

Kringvarp Føroya will also broadcast the election on November 10th live on radio, television and online.

The final election results will also be available on this website.

Election results (kvf.fo)

Municipal election 2020

Voter turnout

The voter turnout in the Municipality of Tórshavn has continuously increased over the last three municipal elections.

79.5% of all eligible voters in the Municipality of Tórshavn cast their ballots in the 2016 municipal election.

77.37% of all eligible voters in the Municipality of Tórshavn cast their ballots in the 2012 municipal elections.

72.4% of all eligible voters in the Municipality of Tórshavn cast their ballots in the 2009 municipal elections.

Seats in the municipal elections are often determined by less than ten votes and sometimes by one single vote, so your vote is very important and will have a big influence on politics in the Municipality of Tórshavn.

Corona

Precautions to take during the election

Many people will gather in the same place during the election, so all voters should abide by the Coronavirus guidelines for a safe and secure election.

All people, who will attend the voting stations, must remember to:

Wash hands thoroughly before arriving at the voting station
Use hand sanitiser when entering the voting station
Keep a safe distance of 2 metres in the queues and inside the voting stations
Refrain from touching our face, nose or mouth until after we have left the voting station
Make our way out of the voting station promptly after voting to prevent a build-up of more people than necessary

Invigilators at the voting stations will ensure that voters are positioned at a safe distance.

Each voter will receive a clean pen to vote and must return their used pen after voting.

All voting cubicles will be frequently sanitised.

Only poll workers that have tested negative for Coronavirus the day before the election are allowed to work at the voting stations.

The poll workers that will handle your voting ballot will be wearing gloves and protective equipment whenever it is applicable.

The safety measures are simple and easy, but they may result in longer waiting times. Please be patient while you are in the queue. If your job or employer permits it, then you can plan to cast your vote during work hours to prevent too many voters at the voting station during rush hour.

IF YOU ARE IN SELF-QUARANTINE DUE TO COVID-19

You must not show up at the voting station on November 10th, 2020 if you are in self-quarantine due to having COVID-19 or possibly having been exposed to the virus.

You should instead absentee vote from Tuesday November 3rd, 2020 to Monday November 9th, 2020.

Contact the Citizen Service Centre on +298 30 20 10 to arrange how you can absentee vote while in self-quarantine.

IF YOUR VOTING STATION IS THE SPORT CENTRE IN TÓRSHAVN (HØLLIN Á HÁLSI)

The sport centre in Tórshavn is the biggest voting station in the country, and 13,000 people are invited to vote at the sport centre. The sport centre will therefore enforce these extra precautions:

A temporary tent is set up outside the sport centre where you will be asked to use hand sanitiser and wait in the correct queue. The number of your cue will be indicated on your voting invitation.
If you do not have your voting invitation, you will have to have a new voting invitation printed by representatives from the national register, which are positioned in a different tent.
Keep a distance of 2 metres in the queues and follow the marks on the ground.
There will be 6 different queues inside the sport centre. Wait in the correct queue as indicated on your voting invitation.
Sanitise your hands again before you hand your voting invitation to the poll worker and get your ballot and your pen.
Put your ballot in the ballot box after voting and return your pen to a designated box.
If you are
- voting for the School Board, you should follow the directions to the School Board election. Afterwards you should follow the different directions out.
- not voting for the School Board, you should follow the directions out.
You will have the option to use hand sanitiser when leaving the voting station

Wheelchair users and persons with mobility difficulties may park by a separate entrance on the eastern side of the sport centre. Staff will be ready to help you cast your vote safely and quickly.

Local Committees and School Board elections

List of candidates for the Local Committees

You can see the list of candidates for the 2020 Municipality of Tórshavn Local Committees here:

List of candidates for the 2020 Municipality of Tórshavn Local Committees - in Faroese

List of School Board elections

The School Board elections for the schools in the Municipality of Tórshavn will be held at the same time as the municipal election on November 10th, 2020 from 10:00 to 20:00.

Parents to students in the different schools in the Municipality of Tórshavn will be invited to vote for their School Boards at these locations:

parents to students in Skúlanum á Fløtum, Sankta Frans skúla, Eysturskúlanum, Hoyvíkar skúla and Skúlanum við Løgmannabreyt vote at the sport centre in Tórshavn (Høllin á Hálsi)
parents to students in Skúlanum á Argjahamri vote at the school á Argjahamri
parents to students in Kaldbaks skúla vote at the school in Kaldbak
parents to students in Velbastaðar skúla vote at the school in Velbastaður
parents to students in Nólsoyar skúla vote at the youth organisation house in Nólsoy (Ungmannafelagshúsið í Nólsoy)
parents to students in Kollafjarðar skúla vote at the scout centre in Kollafjørður

Background information

Municipal election legislation (kommunuval)

The municipal election legislation lists the rules and regulations for municipal elections in the Faroe Islands. It is available to read here:

Municipal election legislation (logir.fo) - in Faroese

Faroese Parliamentary election legislation (løgtingsval)

The municipal election legislation also refers to the Faroese Parliamentary election legislation, which is available to read here:

Faroese Parliamentary election legislation (logir.fo) - in Faroese

Booklet about the municipal election in 2020

The Ministry of Environmental and Industrial Affairs has published the booklet Kommunuval 2020 about the correct election procedures. It is available to read here:

Booklet 'Kommunuval 2020' - in Faroese