Skúvoy faces election controversy after postal voting issues arise

In a recent municipal election, Skúvoy faced significant issues as voters were required to cast their ballots by mail instead of using traditional voting slips. This problem arose because the election committee chair was unaware that it was the election commission’s responsibility to provide the ballots.

Following the election, the Ministry of Justice received a complaint from a resident regarding the voting process. The complaint highlighted that no ballots were available at polling stations. Kim Morgan Ejdesgaard, chair of the election committee, confirmed that he discovered the absence of ballots only the day before the election when he checked the polling venue.

The situation led to a contentious choice for the election committee chair: to either cancel the election or allow voting through mail-in ballots, where voters would write a name on the slips provided.

In his explanation to the Ministry of Justice, Ejdesgaard expressed his belief that the municipality should ensure ballots are available on election day. The Ministry responded to the situation by issuing a letter to Skúvoy municipality, indicating that the election likely did not comply with municipal election laws, which stipulate that the election committee must ensure the necessary number of ballots are available at polling places when voting begins.

As per local election laws, the village council is expected to address the complaint first. The municipality has until November 30 to reach a decision on the matter.

Poul Osmund Tórarenni, the mayor of Skúvoy, confirmed that the village council will review the complaint in the coming days but refrained from commenting on the necessity of a re-election. From the 34 eligible voters in Skúvoy, 30 participated in the voting process. Harry Jensen received 14 votes, Jóannes í Hoygarðinum got 10, and Jákup Andreas Thomsen secured 4 votes.