The right to vote in the Faroe Islands

Elections to the Faroese Representative Council

If you are 18 years of age or over, and you are a Danish citizen and registered with the national register of the Faroe Islands, you have the right to vote in elections to the Faroese Representative Council, Lagtinget. 

The Faroe Islands constitute a single electoral constituency, and anyone who has the right to vote for the Faroese Representative Council can also stand as a candidate.  

33 members are elected, representing a multi-party system.

The electoral period is four years.   

Municipal elections

You have the right to vote in and stand for election to municipal elections if:

• You are at least 18 years of age

• You are registered with the national register as resident in the municipality at least 14 days before the election day

• You are still resident in the municipality on the election day, and

• You otherwise meet the requirements that apply to the right to vote and to stand as a candidate for election.   

If you are not a Danish citizen, but have a foreign nationality, you have the right to vote and stand for election in municipal elections if you are at least 18 years of age and have been permanently resident in the Faroe Islands for at least three years prior to the election.

Municipal elections are held every four years.

Elections to the Danish parliament

The Faroe Islands constitute a single electoral constituency in the Danish Commonwealth, and elect two members to the Danish Parliament. The date of parliamentary elections in the Faroe Islands is usually the same as in Denmark.

In order to be eligible to vote in parliamentary elections in the Faroe Islands, you must have permanent residence in the Faroe Islands, have Danish citizenship, be registered with the national register in the Faroe Islands, and be at least 18 years of age. 

Even 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

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. 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.

Related content

Faroese citizenship does not exist, so it is the Danish rules that apply in this area. You can read more about these rules here.

Citizenship in the Faroe Islands | Nordic cooperation (norden.org)