Edward Snowden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by a group of Norwegian lawmakers who say his revelations about the US global surveillance program have contributed to transparency and global stability.

"The public debate and changes in policy that have followed in the wake of Snowden’s whistleblowing have contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order," the politicians said in their nomination letter.

Snowden was also nominated last year

The Nobel Foundation allows for nominations from members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts; university rectors and professors; and directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes. Nominations can also come from previous recipients, and members and advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which administers the Peace Prize.

The former National Security Agency contractor-turned-document leaker is one of 259 people to be nominated for this year's prize. Snowden was also nominated last year by a Swedish professor, but lost out to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The Peace prize is the only Nobel prize to be awarded by Norwegians. The other Nobel prizes are administered by various Swedish bodies, making the two Scandanavian countries arguably the most influential when it comes to picking winners. Snowden is wanted on felony charges in the US, however, so it's highly unlikely that the prize will go to him.