Folketing Elections
Folketing Elections
Elections to the Danish Parliament, Folketinget, are called by royal public notice. The High Commissioner will immediately thereafter fix an election date for the Faroe Islands. The date is usually the same day as throughout the Realm
Two members of the Folketing are elected in the Faroe Islands.
The Faroe Islands is one single constituency.
Calling elections to Folketinget
Elections to the Folketing are called by royal public notice. This royal public notice can mandate the High Commissioner to set a different date for elections in the Faroe Islands than for the other areas of the Realm.
The High Commissioner will set the date for elections in the Faroe Islands immediately after elections are called.
In the Faroe Islands two members of the Folketing are elected.
The Faroe Islands are one single constituency.
Voting rights and inclusion on the electoral register
Anyone who is a Danish citizen aged 18 years or older, who is permanently resident in the Realm is entitled to vote, unless such person has been deprived of his or her legal capacity.
No one may exercise the right to vote without being included on the electoral register. Voters must be entered in the electoral register in a municipality no later than on the 18th day before the election day.
Persons who have taken up temporary residence abroad may, under certain circumstances, be considered permanently resident in the Realm, and thereby entitled to vote in Folketing elections, please see below.
The following persons who are temporarily resident abroad, and any spouses cohabiting with these persons, are considered permanently resident in the Realm:
1) Persons posted to serve abroad as employees of a public authority, a private company or a private association in the Realm
2) Persons posted abroad as employees of an international organisation of which Denmark or the Faroe Islands is a member
3) Persons posted abroad by a relief organisation in the Realm
4) Persons who are abroad for education purposes
5) Persons who are abroad on grounds of health
6) Persons abroad who, as regards their ties to the Realm, can be considered fully equivalent to the persons mentioned in no. 1-5 above.
Voters who have taken up temporary residence abroad shall, on request, be included in the electoral register in the municipality where they were most recently registered as resident. The request for registration must be submitted to the municipal administration, which subsequently shall forward the request to the High Commissioner accompanied by a certificate confirming that the person in question is a Danish citizen of at least 18 years of age, who has not been deprived of her or his legal capacity, along with information about when the person was last entered in the municipality’s person register, folkeregister. Decisions regarding inclusion in electoral registers are valid for two years from the date of the decision.
Registration and approval of candidates
No person may stand for election, unless they personally registered their own candidature. Candidates may either stand for a party, which at the most recently held Faroese parliamentary elections achieved representation in Løgtingið, the Faroese Parliament, and at the time when elections are called remain represented there, or stand as an independent candidate. The candidacy of any independent candidate requires the subscription of at least 150 and at most 200 voters of the Faroe Islands constituency.
The registration of candidates must be submitted to the chair of the electoral office no later than by 6:00 pm eleven days prior to the election day.
Political parties are required to notify the electoral office which candidates the party can endorse no later than by 6:00 pm eight days before the election day.
When the deadline for registering candidate lapses, the electoral office shall immediately check the validity of all the nominations duly submitted on time. The electoral office shall publish the approved nominations forthwith.
Voting on election day
Votes are cast in each polling district at the polling station designated by the municipal council. Voting commences at 9:00 am and ends at 8:00 pm, and for as long thereafter as there are voters coming to cast their vote. The right to vote is exercised in person. Votes are cast inside the polling booth where only the person voting may be present.
Advance voting for voters registered in the election register in a municipality in the Faroe Islands (Faroese voters)
Any voters present in the Faroe Islands who are prevented from attending the polling station in person on election day may vote in advance at any person registry office. Seafarers and fishers may also vote in advance at the offices of the chief of police (landfoged) or the district commissioner (sýslumaður), or an officer in charge of signing crews on and off (mønstringsbestyrer).
Voters who are hospitalised, or resident at a health or care institutions, or who are receiving medical treatment in the home may vote in advance at the hospital or the institution or the home. The vote must be handed to 2 advance vote recipients, who are appointed by the polling supervisors.
Advance voting may take place three weeks before the election day, however seafarers and fishers may vote in advance in the last three months before the election day.
The last day of advance voting is the penultimate trading day (including Saturday) before the election day.
In order to be tallied, advance votes must, however, be cast sufficient time in advance to ensure that they can reach the polling supervisors before voting begins at 9:00 am on the election day, which is of particular significance if the advance vote has to be posted to another municipality.
Advance voting for voters on an election register in a municipality in Denmark or in Greenland (Danish and Greenlandic voters)
Danish and Greenlandic voters, who are temporarily in the Faroe Islands, may vote in advance at the Faroese person registries or at the offices of the chief of police (fútin) or the district commissioner (sýslumaður) or the High Commissioner’s Office in the Faroe Islands.
Advance voting may take place immediately.
There are no rules governing any deadline for advance voting for Danish or Greenlandic voters in the Faroe Islands. Advance voting for both Danish and Greenlandic voters in the Faroe Islands must, however, in order to be tallied, be cast sufficient time in advance to ensure that they can reach the polling supervisors before voting begins at 9:00 am on the election day in Denmark or Greenland.
Advance voting for Faroese voters temporarily in Greenland, Denmark or third countries
Voters who are on the electoral register in a municipality in the Faroe Islands and who are temporarily in Denmark, Greenland or abroad may vote in advance where they are staying. Voters who are temporarily in Denmark or Greenland may vote in advance at a person registry office or at one of the other locations designated for advance voting. Voters who are temporarily abroad may cast their vote in advance at the offices of a Danish diplomatic or consular representation.
Advance voting in Denmark, Greenland and third countries may take place during the last 3 months before the election day.
Tallying election results
Once voting has closed and the ballot papers have been counted and packed, the polling supervisors and the appointed electors count the votes cast at the polling station. The number of votes cast for each party and for each independent candidate is counted.
Once the chair of the electoral office has received reports from all polling districts, the votes reported are summed up, and a preliminary tally of the election is carried out. The High Commissioner is immediately notified of the total number of votes cast for each party and each independent candidate and the preliminary tally of the election.
No later than the day after the final tally of the election, the chair of the electoral office shall send a copy of the poll book to the High Commissioner who will immediately forward a copy to the Danish Minister for the Interior and Health.
The Folketing approves the validity of the election of candidates.
Complaints regarding Folketing elections
Anyone may enter a complaint regarding Folketing elections. Complaints are to be addressed to the High Commissioner and must be submitted within one week of the election. The High Commissioner will forward any complaints to the Danish Minister for the Interior and Health.
Act on Folketing Elections in the Faroe Islands
For all other particulars, please refer to the Implementing Order for the Act on Folketing Elections in the Faroe Islands (Implementing Order No. 41, dated January 15th 2020), which is available to download in Danish in PDF format below: