National elections in the Faroe Islands
Find the information you need about municipal elections (kommunuval), Faroese parliamentary elections (løgtingsval) and Danish parliamentary elections (fólkatingsval).
All eligible voters will receive a personal voting invitation by mail two 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 cast your 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:
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 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.
When you are eligible to vote, you can cast your vote at the election. There are some minor differences as to who is eligible to cast their vote at the different elections.
Municipal elections
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 three years prior to the election day to be eligible to vote in a municipal election.
Non-Faroese citizens
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 expats not eligible to vote
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.
Elections to the Faroese Representative Council (løgtingsval)
You are eligible to vote and run for office if you:
- Are 18 years or older
- Have a Danish citizenship
- Are registered with the national register of the Faroe Islands (Landsfólkayvirlitið)
- Are not under guardianship and have had legal authority revoked under the Guardianship Act § 6
- If you reside outside the Faroe Islands due to education, you have the right to vote in the parliamentary elections, provided you meet the above conditions and have been registered in the population register in the Faroe Islands for at least five years in total before moving away from the Faroe Islands.
Elections to the Danish parliament (fólkatingsval)
To be eligible to vote in parliamentary elections in the Faroe Islands, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Have a permanent residence in the Faroe Islands
- Be registered with the national register in the Faroe Islands
- Have a Danish citizenship
- If you are living abroad and do not have permanent residence in the Danish Commonwealth, you may still have the right to vote in parliamentary elections under certain conditions
Referendums (fólkaatkvøða)
To be eligible to vote in referendums in the Faroe Islands, you must usually have the right to vote in elections to the Faroese Representative Council (Løgtingið). However, there is no law regulating this area. Instead, a special law is created for each referendum, which, amongst other things, can determine who has the right to vote. In the last referendum, for example, which dealt with amalgamation of the municipalities, an executive order determined that those who were entitled to vote in elections to the Faroese Representative Council also had the right to vote in that referendum.
Referendums held in Denmark are also held in the Faroe Islands, if the law being voted on will also apply to the Faroe Islands. Since the Faroe Islands are not part of the EU, Faroe Islanders do not participate in referendums that relate to Danish EU membership.
The voting invitation will list your designated voting station. You can find a list of all voting stations in the link below:
You are entitled to file a formal complaint about an election after it has been held if you found that some matters, such as the vote count, were wrongly executed.
Your formal complaint must be in written form.
Municipal election (kommunuval)
You can file your formal complaint about the municipal election to your Municipal Council up to 8 days after the election has finalised. The Municipal Council must process any complaint in a council meeting within 10 days of the deadline for filing formal complaints.
The decisions made regarding the formal complaints may be passed on to the Minister of Environmental and Industrial Affairs. The deadline to pass on the decision is 14 days after the Municipal Council has adjudicated the complaint.
Parliamentary election (løgtingsval)
You can file a formal complaint about the parliamentary election to the Parliamentary office up to 10:00 on the 10th working day after the election has finalised.
You should file your formal complaint to your municipality if your complaint regards:
- Your voter registration was not processed
- Another person was wrongfully registered to vote
- You did not receive your voting invitation, or your voting invitation contained errors
The Municipal Council must process your complaint quickly.