Faroese MP loses local support to challenger from rival party

Karlot Hergeirsson, a Faroese lawmaker who secured nearly half the votes in Nólsoy in the last parliamentary election, has lost significant local support to Vígdis Bjarnadóttir, a candidate from the opposition Republic party, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

In the 2022 Faroese general election, the centre-right Progress Party won 52.2% of the national vote, with Hergeirsson—then the party’s fifth candidate—receiving 49% of all votes cast in Nólsoy. The strong result earned him a seat in the Løgting (Faroese Parliament) after Progress formed a coalition government with the Social Democrats and Republic.

Ahead of the upcoming election, Bjarnadóttir—running for Republic in Nólsoy—has emerged as a serious contender. While Progress remains the largest party in the island’s preliminary results with 30.3% of the vote, Hergeirsson’s personal votes have dropped to 43. Republic, now the second-largest party in Nólsoy with 27.7%, saw Bjarnadóttir secure 30 personal votes.