Elections in Finland
About the local elections
There are five types of elections in Finland:
- Elections for president (national level)
- Elections for the parliament (national level)
- Elections for the wellbeing counties (local level)
- Elections for the municipalities (local level)
- Elections for EU parliament (EU level)
Whenever elections happen (the last one was the EU parliament, and the current one is the local elections), sidewalks and trees along my walking route adorn different candidate's snapshots.
/the local elections
Finland has 21 counties and 292 municipalities at the end of 2025. I live in Espoo, a municipality, which comes under the West Uusimaa wellbeing services county. West Uusimaa will have 79 councillors in the 2025 elections. Espoo will have 75 councillors.
Counties are responsible for a bunch of things including primary and specialist healthcare, social welfare, mental health, and substance abuse services, etc.
Municipalities are responsible for education and day care, urban planning, cultural, youth, library and sports services, water and waste management, environmental services, etc.
Most people living in Finland can vote in these elections, even if they are not citizens. You need to be living in Finland for more than 2 years.
