Why Your Vote Matters

This motivational, heart-centered episode brings together three international candidates in Denmark who open up about their personal journeys and messages to eligible voters. In a reflective and inspiring 30-minute group conversation, the guests join the two co-hosts to explore what it truly means to participate in democracy as an international resident.

Together, they discuss:

• What does voting mean to them as internationals living in Denmark?
• Why did they decide to run in local or regional elections?
• Their message to other internationals who feel disconnected from politics
• Why does every vote matter, and how does every voice belong in Denmark?

This is not a policy debate; it’s a space to inspire, encourage participation, and remind listeners that representation begins with showing up.

Tip:
Read Valentin's interview with Last Week in Denmark here.

Read Keren's interview with Last Week in Denmark here.
Read Candice's interview with Last Week in Denmark here.

Read Nico's interview with Last Week in Denmark here.

The podcast is made by AMIS (an NGO that has over 30 years of history of making projects aimed at developing better opportunities and inclusion in Denmark and Europe), Nyt Europa (an NGO that works for a sustainable and democratic EU) and Last Week in Denmark (a weekly newsletter about Danish latest news available in 6 languages - English, Romanian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish and Italian).

Transcript

Unknown Speaker  0:01  
You live here,

Unknown Speaker  0:04  
you work here,

Speaker 1  0:06  
you vote here. But did you know you can run for office too?

Speaker 2  0:13  
Today we're talking to some internationals who decided to stop asking for change and become that change.

Speaker 1  0:20  
Welcome to episode four of vote home. And today's question is, what does it take to go from voter to candidate?

Speaker 2  0:30  
You may be surprised. You don't need to be perfect at Danish. You don't need a degree in political science. All you need is passion, a clear message and some paperwork. So we're going to talk to some candidates who decided to do exactly that, and to get to know them, we are going to go around and let you know about these inspiring individuals who did just that, decided to be that change and run for office here in Denmark. So let's go around and hear from them. Hari, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're originally from, what you're running for and what made you come to that decision?

Speaker 3  1:09  
Absolutely. Thank you for having me here in the program, and it is my privilege to be a part of kind of parent discussion. I came to Denmark in 2009 as an international student from Nepal, and then I completed my study of degree in diploma. And finally, MSC from nelsboro College. Then I got green card, I completed my Danish language, then I started job as corporate consultant. Finally, I got permanent residence. And finally I got Danish citizenship, even though Danish citizenship is not the criteria for the local, municipal council and region Council. I have got it.

Speaker 1  1:47  
Okay, so Harry, even if you get elected, you will not break the ice about being the first international in Copenhagen history to be elected, because you are already Danish.

Speaker 3  1:58  
Mathematically, mathematically, I'm Danish, and maybe I have adopted some of those Danish values and norms, but still so many Nepalese values, where I come from, where I was born, and it's still in my Vegas. And as for the necessity, I take it out and use it

Speaker 1  2:13  
so you see, you still perceive yourself as an international that's nice.

Speaker 3  2:19  
Yes, even though I proclaim myself as a Danish, people are not going to believe it, and even the Danish, they are not taking me as a Danish. And my own people, they will think rather negatively. That is, he thinks he's Danish, and in from both sides, I'll be taken very negatively, and this is not a good idea. Then I try to be what I am, then I am still international citizen. That's awesome.

Speaker 2  2:41  
So everybody's unsatisfied. I think that's a better thing, is you bring two great things to the table, always something that not everybody else has. So yeah, exactly. Is that part of what inspired you for for this decision to run?

Speaker 3  2:55  
Actually, I was also politically involved back to my home country, even though I was not politician, I was politically aware. Then I used to read the newspaper. Used to closely observe the theme in the society and how political decisions they were affecting the normal people lives, and so on and so forth. Due to nepotism and high use of money in my country, I couldn't do that. But in Denmark, this is not the case. Something different. Then, when I met heleton Smith, the foster lady, Prime Minister in Denmark, then I was inspired to be active in dentist politics. There, when I was working as a fundraiser for Save the Children. Then suddenly, luckily, I could meet her. Then there was around two or three minutes, talk has changed my mindset, and I just became the member of social democrats from that time, and still I'm elected, and today I'm sitting in the Copenhagen Municipal Council representing Social Democratic Party is a member of employment and integration community. Did you get elected already? I lost the election by just a single one freaking vote that was unlucky, and fortunately made a rice man only welt and she was elected in the Danish Parliament. Then I got him as the foster sublime. Dan, ah, you

Unknown Speaker  4:16  
made history already. Okay. Thank you, buddy.

Speaker 2  4:20  
I love the story of you got involved in your community in other ways, and then, basically, through that involvement, made some of those political connections as well, and then decided to take the passions you already had, the projects that you were already working on, decided to take them into the political arena as well. So yeah, I really, I love that story. Generally,

Speaker 3  4:43  
I could easily sense that the importance of Danish language in the Danish labor market, even though I was highly educated person, then I couldn't work as a corporate consultant immediately in the job center after completing my Danish language within three or four years of my arrival, then I was. Was somehow able to speak Danish fluently that time. Let's say that it was kind of average level of Danish, but it was good enough for me to communicate in Danish with the Danish citizen as well as international citizens were unemployment and or subsidized employment scheme or so on so forth. I think learning Danish language was very crucial and turning point for my personal and professional development in the moment.

Speaker 2  5:26  
Wow, that's really great. And then we pass over to Alina, I'm very curious to hear more from you on where you're from and sort of where the decision to run came from, and what are you running for? And where?

Speaker 4  5:43  
Hello to everyone. Hi, yes. My name is Alina rechila. I'm born and raised in kishineau, Republic of Moldova. That's a little country in the Eastern Europe, if you don't know. I moved to Denmark for 11 years ago together with my husband. So our three children, they are born here in Denmark. Now it's the second time I am a candidate. For the last 10 years I've been living and I'm still living in chunokomuna. This is in the south Denmark, and as the last time, also right now, I am a candidate for local elections in chunokomuna. So for around five years ago, I saw for the first time Facebook post that Narcis have wrote where he was telling about the crazy idea of internationals participated in local and regional elections. So I said, Oh, that's That's amazing. I never heard about this before, so I got very curious. I started to read and learn more about this. So I was one of that group of Romanians that were candidates for first time in such a big number in whole Denmark, a lot of kumunis and some regions in Denmark got Romanian candidates for first time. And as I also speak, Romanian, and Romanian is a part of my daily life. So I also became one of that group. Short story, but interesting story is that I participated. I have learned a lot of things last time for four years ago, while I was a candidate for the local elections in chunokomuna, I also got pregnant with my third child. So I've learned how easy to be a mother pregnant with studies, because I began to study as a nurse here in Denmark and that time, and apropos, it was met Frederickson that have motivated me to study as a nurse here in Denmark, because she was saying, we need more nurses. So why not? At that moment, for four years ago, I was pregnant, I was studying as a nurse, and I was a candidate, and I must tell you, it was hard, but it was so interesting to have this role, also with two other children at home. So it was so crazy, but it was so great,

Unknown Speaker  8:09  
a great feeling. Just one of those things would be hard.

Speaker 4  8:12  
I loved it. I think it's a great result, because there were around 51 persons that have voted for me. Personally, I'm very thankful for all those 51 persons, including me. But I must mention that my son was born the night we were counting the votes. So of course, being highly pregnant, I hadn't so much energy to be so active. But this time, that's a different story, because this time, I have finished my studies. Now it's more than a year since I work as a skilled specialist. I had to change from nurse to healthcare worker, so I am now a social assistant in home care, working here in Denmark with elderly and sick people. Now it's a totally different level, because one for two years ago, social democrats asked me, Do you want to be a candidate again? So I said, Only if I'm a candidate at regional elections in South Denmark, because regions worked a lot with healthcare, and now this is not only my hobby, now it's my professional field where I work in and so I said, so I have a lot more to put on the table if I'll be a candidate this time. So they also asked me, yes, maybe you also want to be not only for regional elections, but stay also for local elections in truna Municipality. So I said, okay, but the focus must be on health, as my profession says. Now, it's a big difference. Very big difference. How is it going now, and how it was that time? Because now I said, no more children. We. No more studies for now. It's enough for now. So it's a very big focus on the last one and a half years since I said yes to be a candidate at both regional and local elections. So it's a lot of meetings, a lot of studies, courses, online life, different municipalities here in south region, South Denmark. So it's another level. And I also see the effect because we didn't get to the self Valentine to self Election Day, but I can see how people communicate with me. I can see the reactions, the effects of my campaign. So it's a totally different level.

Speaker 2  10:43  
That's great. And so it seems like the idea of being involved in having some say in the healthcare outputs really motivated you, especially at the regional level, where our listeners now hopefully have listened to episodes two and three, where we talk about the differences and the responsibilities and the things that fall under the local council and the Regional Council. So that, if you didn't hear that yet, listeners, go ahead and check that out, so you'll understand more of what Alina is talking about with the importance of healthcare, with the Regional Council

Speaker 1  11:15  
super and Well, I'm happy that we have now on board both Harry and Alina. Unfortunately, they're both from the same party, the Social Democrats. It's not something that we intended for we opened the invitation to all parties, but the other parties don't seem to have any international candidates. So that made the situation as it is now. But let's see, how can we make it so next time, in four years from now, there will be a lot more international candidates, hopefully at more than one party. Let's talk about how to become a candidate. So I'll just take the first step in the first step, obviously, we have to see who can run for elections. Well, basically think like this, if you can vote, you can run for elections, is the same. So who can vote? People who are Europeans after they got their CPR number. So that can be what after three weeks a month, depending on your municipality, and the non Europeans after four years, regardless if you have citizenship or permanent residence or anything like that. That's That's irrelevant in this context. Of course, besides EU citizens, this time, an exception has been made so that UK citizens can also vote on the same grounds as EU citizens. Of course, we should remember that there are other Nordic countries which are on the same grounds with the Europeans, the icelandics and the Norwegians, even though they are not technically part of EU they benefit from the same rules and the same rights as EU citizens have. So step one, who can run? Anyone who can vote. Step two, what can you run for local and regional elections? Of course, and if you are EU citizen, you can also consider running for European Parliament, which is also quite exciting. The only thing that we are barred if we don't have Danish citizenship is the Danish Parliament. So that's something that you need to keep in mind. And now we get to the fun part. A lot of people have asked us, do you have to join a political party, or should you run as independent? My opinion is that you should always join a political party to have any real chance. But Hari Alina, what do you guys think? Do you think anyone would have any chance in hell running as an independent in local elections? Yes,

Speaker 3  13:34  
mathematically, everyone who has interest in politics, they can stand as a communal or regional candidate without being the member of political party. But there are many advantages. If you are a member of political party, then your party takes initiation, to meet deadlines, to fulfill all the required criteria, signature collection, this and that, and you don't have to worry about it. But if you are independently, register yourself as a candidate, and then you have to get higher number of votes, maybe more than 2000 2500 in some cases, 3000 but if you are a member of political party, if you get around 1000 approximately, then you will be elected. But it totally depends on the number of votes your political party gets, because the Danish political system is built on the professionality principle. That means if your political party gets more number of votes, then it also gets more number of mandates. It is how it is. There is possibility of standing alone without being a member of political party. But it has a price, and it comes with right and I suggest all international candidate, if it is possible, try to be a member of political party which can incorporate their social values, moral values or integration values. For example, when I was a member of social democracy, that time, when helithoney was then, I was very. Be to be a part of social workers. Now I'm fighting internally that to move the immigration policy in another direction, because they have tightened the immigration rules and regulation all the time, which is not pleasing for me, and I'm working on it, but one individual cannot make the difference. We all need to collaborate together.

Speaker 2  15:21  
Do you have any advice on that note? I'm glad that you brought that up for individuals that may be thinking as they vote in the local and regional elections coming up. Obviously, internationals are allowed to vote in that now, internationals may be very aware of the rhetoric coming from the national parties when it comes to immigration. Of course, these are day to day issues. So these are things like, as we discussed healthcare, these are roads, these are schools. These are things very close to our community. But of course, our community as internationals is very much related to the fact that we can actually live here and able to be able to live here, to come here to stay, work and study and not have our lives made more difficult in that process. Do you have any advice for somebody listening that may be looking at the rhetoric changes at the national level from parties who maybe typically have supported internationals and are now taking a different stand, how they can separate that when they're voting at the local level compared to the national level, or how they should think about maybe most of the things they know are going to be from what they hear from the national parties, especially lately, with a lot of the discussion and the debate at the national level being around immigration, how should they interpret that if they're in the international community, like all of us, when they're thinking about how to support local candidates that may belong to a certain party

Speaker 3  16:40  
As a thank you very much for a beautiful question. It is, in fact, a million dollar question. There are many immigrants who cannot differentiate between the local election and the national election, and they assimilate all the information together, and they try to try to evaluate the candidate in a way that you are representing whole nation, and I'm not going to bore you because you're representing a Social Democrat party or Danish people party or so on and so forth. But local politics is totally different. Each and every community, they have their own way of doing and they can't decide in their own they don't have to rely on the parliament. In some exceptional cases, of course, they have to have a kind of legislation and collaboration. There's something different. But in most of the cases, they can decide in their own they have the can board. All the member in the municipal council have right to vote and make the decision and make the rules and regulation as per the necessary. They don't have to rely on tennis Parliament, and that's why, if you vote the candidate, even though they are represented in the hardliner political parties, and then it can make sense still, because you are influencing Danish society, and when you vote them, then you have right to talk with them, then invite in political forums and ask questions and propose a kind of synopsis which you have. If you have a good idea, then your representative will listen you and try to represent that idea in municipal council. And that's the way to make the difference. And just sitting outside of the circle and just shouting, it doesn't make any sense. And that is the same message I tell my friends in my network, because they are very good at sometimes some of them are very good at shouting and this and that this is not okay. It should be like that. This part is this, and just they're very good at evaluating without being a part of it, and rather than shouting outside, please come inside and get involved in it and try to take the responsibility. And that is the message I want to give to everyone. Well, said.

Speaker 1  18:39  
Thank you, Harry Alina, can you tell us how did you exactly became a candidate? Because, okay, let's say I want to become, well, I am a candidate myself. But let's say Derek here wants to become a candidate himself, and he wants to do it like specifically, okay, now I want to be a member of, let's say, a party. My advice is always, if you go for local election, choose the largest parties there are, because then you need fewer votes to get in. So strategically speaking, that's smart. But Alina, when you decided to become member of the Social Democrats, how did you actually do it?

Speaker 4  19:16  
That's a good question. Let's start with that first five, six years since I after I moved to Denmark, so I have never thought about getting into politics or anything about I had no interest in Danish politics, even if I was thinking, yes, my life here is in Denmark. I want to live my life here for the rest of the life. But I had no thoughts about Danish politics. But as more I was learning and understanding the Danish language, culture and so on, I began to understand that politics are very important, especially when we talk about internationals in Denmark, as I am as one of diaspora in Denmark, and I started to listen to different. And parties, one of the ways I was improving my Danish language skills was reading newspapers, listening to radio, listening to TV shows and news and so on. And there I got my eyes and ears on Mette Frederiksen, I believe that it was right before some forgetting at elections that why she was very a lot in in the news. First moment was where she said that we need more nurses. And that's why I was in the moment where I was thinking, if I want to have a better life here in Denmark, so I think that's wise. Denmark needs more nurses. I wish to take some studies, so I'll follow her advice, and I'll start some studies here in Denmark. But I also started to listen more. So what are they talking about? The social democrats, what are some other parties talking about? I don't believe there is somebody that is 100% agree with a political no matter if it's Denmark or outside of Denmark, but many of those things that meta Fredericks was talking about, I said, I agree. I like what she's talking about. And this was for five, six years ago, I started to listen more and read more about this, and so I've heard that the same year, there should have been some local elections in every municipality. And after I have read that post that Narcis wrote that, oh, internationals are also important. They can candidate and they can be elected. So I started to think, Okay, which of the political parties I agree most with? So I said, if Matt Frederickson motivated me. So that may mean that there are some good views for me also. So first thing I have searched on Google about social democrats here in Denmark, I wrote an email to the local social democrats in truna Municipality, their chef here in trun the municipalities, but she invited me to a conversation to to hear about the Social Democrats, but she said everything is only in Danish language, so I must be ready that all people talk only in Danish, and if I have questions, then we can talk after that Meeting. So I got an invitation at one of the open meetings for social democrats in my municipality. Here it go. So it began, so I have got very interesting in what they were talking about, because they were talking about very good things, very important things, like, how important is for families to have a good life in Denmark, how important is to have internationals very well integrated in Denmark. How important is the health care system in Denmark? And I agreed with many things we were talking about. So I decided to become a member of this party, of Social Democratic Party. As soon as you became a member, you pay that membership, yes, as soon as you pay the membership, so you have access to participate at the closed meetings and where they are closed. So you learn even more about the local and international politics. And I think that, I think it's enormously interesting that when you talk about such a big political party as social democrats, you must know that they are represented in the falkit ingat, in region, at local and we are so lucky to have also a prime minister. So the head of a party, it's also the head of a country, if I can say so. So this dynamics between how is it going, up and down, between all these three levels, it was very interesting for me. I must just say that in the beginning, I wasn't super good at Danish language, so there were things, what where I was saying? What are they talking about? Most of the Social Democrats here in the south Denmark are people that are not so young. They hear bad and also here in South Denmark, a lot of people speak not RIS Dansk, that it's very specific a local way to speak Danish. So I really had to take a lot of notes while they were speaking and read them at home and try to find more information about this on the official sites.

Speaker 2  24:18  
Did you find that the language ever held you back? Actually, for either of you, was the language ever something that held you back? Or did you have any specific reactions as an international that maybe surprised you a little bit in either of those,

Speaker 4  24:33  
yes, language was something where, because none of my colleagues here speak any other language. So it was very important to understand as good as possible what are they talking about, and to say it right, to answer back, to say what I was thinking as right as possible on Danish language, because when you speak with elderly people, it's.

Unknown Speaker  25:00  
It, you must be very persisting

Speaker 2  25:04  
like myself. I live in Copenhagen. Sometimes I take for granted, and it's almost it's almost a false friend, in a way, where it's almost too easy to get by and it's too easy to assume that I'm going to be understood when maybe I'm not, especially when it comes to some of these political issues where my data shows okay, but I express myself better in English. So I'm sure that was maybe a challenge.

Speaker 4  25:30  
It was a challenge, and sometimes even now, well, now I have finished Finnish studies. I have finished the Spanish language school, and it was a high level. I have finished, but still, I know I have my accent. I will always have it no matter what language I speak. I have my Moldavian accent, and I know I speak fast, because I also have a lot of thoughts in my head, and I know that a person that has never spoke another language, it was only the mother language, only the Danish language, and maybe a very specific way to speak it. If we compare to the municipality with Copenhagen, it's like the urkens Denmark is the longest away from Copenhagen. Here are no big cities. It's mostly a countryside. So people have a very specific way of speaking, of understanding things, of jokes and so on. So I really have to use a lot of energy to to learn all this from zero. I have no Danish family, so it was really on my personal motivation to be as good as possible. But I was also working with other people, because I have also worked a lot in healthcare system, so I have learned to understand even people that have no chief in mouth or no hearing apparatus. Now I understand it all. Super.

Speaker 1  26:53  
Alina, thank you so much. Hari, can you? Can you tell us, how practically, how does one become nominated internally, inside the party, because, okay, I'm a member. I say I want to be a candidate. Is just, just it. I just go to the next meeting and I raise my hand and I want to be a candidate. Make sure you put me on the list. End of story, Harry. Can you tell me that

Speaker 3  27:17  
there is a certain procedure we need to follow as a candidate in any political party. In social democratic party, there is so called local committee, local bestialism. Then they need to finalize the number of candidates they want to stand up. Then let's say that I'm one of the candidate in the local committee. Then they send my name forward, following all the procedure and meeting all the deadlines on time without having any complication there. Then there is also something, what we call Wow, standing in Danish that is internal voting procedure. Only the member of Social Democratic Party have right to vote the candidates, and all those candidates who have more number of votes will be selected. And let's say that if I get the least board, and there is less probability that I'll be selected in WoW, stemming or internal voting procedure, luckily, I have been selected. There's a different story. But this is the procedure,

Speaker 1  28:14  
okay? So, so if we are to resume for the future candidates, the advice is, one, select a party. Don't try to be independent, because, especially as an international topic, very, very hard. Two, just simply become a member and write to them and say, Hey, I'm International. I may not speak Danish, but I can motivate 1000s of local internationals to go and vote for the first time. And I'm sure the moment you mentioned 1000s and votes in the same phrase, they'll be like, yes, please come. Let's do it.

Speaker 3  28:49  
You can be our candidates. Isn't it like that? Harry, I said there is one important thing I would like to mention in this context that I have talked with many people, and I have also encouraged them to be a part of Danish politics. They mean to say that they are not perfect in Danish, and they are hesitating, hesitated to participate in committee meeting because they don't understand each and everything. And I told them that nobody is perfect and we are that nobody and if you believe the self fulfilling prophecy, that if you believe that you can do it, then you can do it, and it is all about mentality. And then I'm also running the courses and training programs from different non resident, nebulous associations, organizations and my own organization, knowledge group, which I have established with like minded people. And slowly and gradually, they have changed their mind, but it takes time, and it's a long process. So in this context, I thought that is important for everyone to listen, that nobody is perfect. Don't think that I'll be perfect and I'll be a part of Danish society just to come and participate learn something. And there is also a different procedure of learning Danish language, if you combine. Different methodology, like listening or writing, and if you also also watch the debate programs visually on television, then your mind can read, the lips reading, even though you are not thinking about it. The mind will do that. And after a long period of time, the things are getting better and better, and you never know, at a point you can fluently speak Danish. That's the way of learning procedure.