Six municipalities in Faroe Islands to elect new mayors in upcoming municipal elections

In total, six municipalities across the country will have new mayors following the upcoming municipal elections on November 12. This change is due to the fact that six sitting mayors have chosen not to run for re-election.

The municipalities affected include Hvannasund, Kunoy, Sandoy, Skopun, Skúvoy, and Vestmanna.

In Hvannasund, Katrin Næs is completing her third term as mayor. She first became mayor in 2010 after succeeding Veronika Petersen, who stepped down. Næs served until 2016 but did not run for that year’s election. She returned to the position in 2020 but has chosen not to run this time.

In Vestmanna, Pauli Trond Petersen served as mayor during the first half of the current term but resigned in August 2022. Vice Mayor Bjørg á Rógvi has filled the role for the past two years, and she will also not seek re-election.

Poul Jacob Poulsen, mayor of Kunoy, has announced that he will not run again this year. The last municipal election was particularly close, with Poulsen receiving 19 votes, followed closely by candidates with 18, 17, and 16 votes.

In Skúvoy, Mayor Poul Osmund Tórarenni is stepping down as well. He joined the municipal council in 2016 and became mayor in 2020. This election cycle has seen difficulties in finding candidates, with only five individuals standing for election.

Heri Sverrason, who has served as mayor of Sandoy for the past four years, announced some time ago that he would not be running again.

Lastly, Gerhard Lognberg is also resigning from his long-held position in Skopun. He has been one of the country’s longest-serving municipal politicians, first elected in 1984, and has been mayor since January 1, 1993, totaling 32 years in office when a new council takes over after the New Year.