Due to a lack of trust within the government, Aksel V. Johannesen has called an election for the Lagtinget.
According to kvf.fo, Lagman Aksel V. Johannesen declared election for the Lagting on the Faroe Islands. The election must be held on March 26.
The reason is a lack of trust between the governing parties, he says according to Kringvarp Føroya, which is the Faroe Islands’ national radio and television.
– The trust between the government parties has basically not been there, says Aksel V. Johannesen from Javnaðarflokkurin to the media.
The Lagting is elected for a four-year term. However, it can be dissolved before the end of the election period if the Lagman decides to call an election, or if the Lagting decides on a dissolution before the end of the period.
After the most recent elections to the Lagting, the Faroe Islands’ parliament, in December 2022, the social democratic Javnaðarflokkurin, the left-wing secessionist party Tjóðveldi and the social-liberal centrist Framsókn formed a majority government in the Faroe Islands.
Javnaðarflokkurin became the largest party in the election with 9 mandates out of 33 possible, while Tjóðveldi got 6 and Framsókn 3 mandates.
Javnaðarflokkurin went from 22.5 percent of the vote in the 2019 election to 26.6 percent of the vote in 2022.
The Faroe Islands and the approximately 50,000 inhabitants are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. The islands were given home rule in 1948 and self-government in 2005.
The Landstyret is the self-governing government of the archipelago, which is led by the Lagman. The National Council is normally elected every four years by the Lagting.
Aksel V. Johannesen has been a layman since after the election in 2022. Before that, Bárður á Steig Nielsen from the bourgeois-liberal party Sambandsflokkurin – a counterpart to Venstre – was a layman.
Sambandsflokkurin got 7 seats in the 2022 election, while Fólkafokkurin got 6 seats and Miðflokkurin 2 seats.
The Faroe Islands are not a member of the EU, but are represented by two members in the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen.
It is currently Sjúður Skaale from Javnaðarflokkurin and Anna Falkenberg from Sambandsflokkurin.
