Elections in Finland - yhteiskuntaorientaatio.fi
Elections in Finland are free and voters have many options
Many different types of public elections are organised in Finland:
- Parliamentary elections every four years
- County and municipal elections every four years
- Presidential elections every six years
- European Parliament elections every five years.
In addition to these, there can be nation-wide, regional or municipal advisory referendums. These are only organised rarely.
Eligibility to vote is based either on citizenship or residency in Finland
In all Finnish elections, all Finnish citizens who live in Finland permanently and have turned 18 years by the election day are eligible to vote. Finnish citizens who live abroad are eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections and presidential elections and often also in the European Parliament elections. Finnish citizens living abroad are not eligible to vote in municipal elections or county elections.
In certain cases, citizens of other countries living permanently in Finland can vote in municipal and county elections and European Parliament elections.
Before the election, everyone who is eligible to vote receives a notification about their right to vote. This notification arrives as a letter or electronically to Suomi.fi. The notification states the election period and the voter’s polling station on election day, as well as nearby general polling stations during the advance voting period.
You can vote on election day or in advance
In an election, you can vote either on the election day or in advance. If you vote in advance, you can vote in any public polling station in Finland or abroad. There are polling stations in many public spaces, such as libraries, municipal halls and shopping centres. If the voter is in another country, they can vote in a public polling station abroad or by letter.
If you vote on election day, you can only vote at the polling station stated in your own notification of eligibility. You cannot vote on election day if you have already voted in advance. You must take a valid ID card with a picture, for example your passport, to the polling station.
Voter secrecy prevents buying votes and threatening voters
Finland has voter secrecy. This means that you do not have to tell anyone who you are voting for. When a person goes to vote, no one else can see who they vote for. If you want to, you can tell other people who you vote for.
At the polling station, the election workers check your identity. This ensures that the voter is eligible to vote in the election and that everyone votes only once.
After this, you enter the polling booth. No one else is allowed to enter at the same time. Other people cannot see into the booth. In the booth, you write the number of your own candidate on your ballot. You cannot write anything but the number on the ballot. If needed, you can use the help of an assistant to mark the ballot.
Finally, the election worker stamps the ballot and the voter places the stamped ballot in the ballot box. The ballot box is closed. No one can find out who voted for who.
Voting in advance looks almost the same as voting on election day. The difference is that after the election worker has stamped the ballot, the ballot is sealed in an envelope and then with a covering letter in another envelope. This envelope is sent to the voter’s municipality’s central municipal election board.
When the election period is over, the votes received by candidates are counted from the ballots. Only stamped votes are accepted. When counting advance votes, the covering letters are separated from the envelopes before opening. No one knows which ballot belongs to which voter.
The purpose of voter secrecy is to prevent someone buying or selling votes in an election. A voter cannot be threatened or forced to vote for a specific candidate.
The proportional representation system has led to Finland’s multi-party system
In Finland’s parliamentary elections, municipal elections and county elections as well as European Parliament elections, the proportional representation system is in use. This means that in each electoral district, the number of elected candidates from each party corresponds with the party’s share of all votes in the electoral district. If a party receives 20% of the votes, it will receive around 20% of the seats. In the parliamentary elections, the electoral districts are large and each district elects multiple representatives. In the county elections, the electoral district is the wellbeing services county and in the municipal elections it is the municipality. In the European Parliament elections, the electoral district is the whole country.
When you vote for a candidate from a certain party, the vote primarily goes to the party. The vote benefits all the candidates of the party even if your own candidate is not chosen.
The votes also define which candidates within the party are ultimately chosen. The voters can thus affect which parties receive most seats in the election and which candidates in the party are chosen.
The proportional representation system has led to Finland having a multi-party system. A party can receive a representative even with a rather small share of the votes.
Voter turnout varies according to age and level of income
Voter turnout tells us how many of those eligible to vote have voted in an election. Voting is important, but it is voluntary. The voter turnout in Finland differs in different elections.
There can be many reasons why someone eligible to vote does not vote in an election. Someone may debate whether one vote makes a difference in an election. However, sometimes one vote can be crucial. If you do not vote and thus do not voice your opinion on who should be elected, you voluntarily retreat from democratic decision-making.
According to research, older people, people with large incomes and highly educated people vote more often than the young, those with small incomes and those with little education. The voter turnout for women in Finland is slightly higher than that of men. Differences in voter turnout have an impact on whose voices are heard in societal decisions.
General elections are organised at the same time in the whole country
In parliamentary election, Finnish citizens elect 200 Members of Parliament
When Members of Parliament are chosen through the election, they can work in Parliament for four years at a time. After that, there will be a new election.
In the parliamentary election, all Finnish citizens of age are allowed to vote.
Candidates for parliamentary elections must also be over 18 years old and Finnish citizens. Usually the candidates are members of political parties. There are no limits to how many times the same candidate can be chosen for Parliament in subsequent elections.
In the parliamentary election, Finland is divided into 13 electoral districts. When a person votes in the parliamentary election, they can only vote for candidates in their own electoral district. For example, voters living in Jyväskylä vote for a candidate from the Central Finland district. This system is in place to ensure that representatives from different parts of the country are chosen for Parliament.
More information about the parliamentary election: Information about the Parliamentary Elections in different languages (Vaalit.fi)
County elections elect county councils for wellbeing services counties
County elections elect representatives for county councils. Each wellbeing services county has a county council which decides about the matters for the wellbeing services county, meaning health and social services and emergency services.
County elections are organised in the whole country at the same time, but each wellbeing services county has its own county council.
All those who are of age, live permanently in Finland and are citizens of Finland, other Nordic countries and other EU countries are allowed to vote in the county elections. Also, citizens of other countries who have lived in Finland consecutively for a minimum of two years, are of legal age and live in Finland permanently, are allowed to vote in the county elections.
Voters vote in the election of the wellbeing services county of their municipality of residence. You can become a candidate if you are eligible to vote in the county elections. Candidates cannot work in certain management positions in the wellbeing services county. Candidates are usually members of a political party, but there are also independent candidates.
Because Helsinki is not a part of any wellbeing services county, there is no county election in Helsinki. Residents of Helsinki only vote in the municipal election. The city council of Helsinki also decides about those matters which are decided in county councils elsewhere in Finland.
More information about county elections: Information on county elections (vaalit.fi)
Municipal elections elect a municipal county in each municipality
Municipal matters are decided in municipal councils. Members of the municipal council are elected in municipal elections. The size of the council depends on the population size of the municipality. If there are a lot of residents in the municipality, the municipal council has more representatives.
Municipal elections are organised at the same time as county elections. In both elections, the voter can vote for two different candidates at the same time – one for the county council and another for the municipal council. If the same candidate is standing in both elections, you can vote for the same candidate in both elections.
Eligibility to vote in the municipal election is granted on the same basis as for the county elections. People can only vote for candidates in their own municipality.
You can stand as a candidate for the municipal election if you are a resident in the municipality and are eligible to vote. Thus, you do not have to be a Finnish citizen.
More information about the municipal election: Information on the municipal elections (vaalit.fi)
In presidential election the head of state is chosen
The president of Finland is elected with a direct national election. In the presidential election, voters vote directly for a candidate. The candidate who receives the most votes becomes president.
The presidential election is organised in Finland every six years. The same person can be chosen as president two times in a row. They can act as the Finnish president for a maximum of 12 years.
All Finnish citizens of legal age can vote in the presidential election.
The president must be a native Finnish citizen. Candidates are usually set by parties, but sometimes there are candidates nominated by constituency associations (valitsijayhdistys) outside of parties.
There are often two separate elections in a presidential election. If one candidate receives over half of the votes in the first election, they become the president of Finland. Usually a second round has to be held in the election. In the second round, voters vote between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round. The new president is the one to receive more votes.
More information on the presidential election: Information about the Presidential Election in different languages (vaalit.fi)
In the European Parliament elections, Finnish representatives for the European Parliament are chosen
The European Parliament is the representative body of the European Union. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are chosen by elections in different member states. Finland chooses its own representatives for the European Parliament in the election. Altogether 720 members are chosen for the European Parliament from all EU countries. The number of members from Finland varies. In the 2024 election, 15 Members were chosen from Finland.
All Finnish citizens of legal age are allowed to vote in the European Parliament elections. In addition to this, citizens of other EU countries that are of legal age and live permanently in Finland can also vote. They must notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency by the set date that they want to use their right to vote in Finland. If they choose to vote in Finland, they cannot vote for a candidate in their country of citizenship.
Candidates in the European Parliament elections represent different parties similarly to the Finnish parliamentary election. All of Finland is one electoral district, meaning that the same candidates can be voted for all around Finland. You can be a candidate if you are a Finnish citizen or a citizen of another EU country, meaning if you are eligible to vote in the European Parliament election. The candidates are nominated by political parties or constituency associations.
More information about the European parliament elections: Information about the European Elections 2024 (vaalit.fi)