Elections
General election
The number of representatives elected in elections, which take place every four years, is 200. The number of representatives elected from each electoral district is in proportion to the population of the electoral district. In the electoral district of Åland, one representative is always elected.
By voting in the General election, you can contribute to, e.g.
- the development of society and issues such as care for the elderly
- the focus areas of the national economy, how public money is spent
- the formation of the Government, a five-party coalition or some other combination
because the Parliament legislates, decides on the State Budget, appoints the Prime Minister, oversees government activities, plays a role in decision making on EU affairs, and approves the major treaties that obligate Finland.
Local elections
The local elections are carried out every four years on the fourth Sunday of October. By voting in a local election you can contribute to, e.g.
- how and on what your municipality chooses to spend public money, whether on business development, bicycle lanes, libraries
- the appearance of the city or municipality, through planning, parks, principles governing high-rise building
- how matters are run, e.g. the rules and regulations governing libraries
The elected local council
- elects members to the local executive, the task of which is to prepare and implement council decisions
- elects members to the local authority committees, which are in charge of producing public services in a municipality
- determines the income tax rate in the municipality
- decides on the basic services for residents, the most important of which concern social and health care, education and culture, and the environment and technical infrastructure.
Presidential election
The President of the Republic is elected by a direct popular vote, if necessary in two rounds. The President must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The election day is the fourth Sunday of January in the election year. In the event that one of the candidates secures a simple majority of votes in this election (the first round), they will be appointed president. If this is not the case, a second round of election will be carried out on the Sunday two weeks later between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round. The candidate who receives a simple majority of votes in the second round will be appointed president.
The term of office for the President of the Republic is six years.
European Parliament election
In the European Parliament election, a total of 751 members are elected to the European Parliament from the 28 Member States, 13 of whom are elected from Finland. By voting in the European Parliament election, you can contribute to the kind of Europe you wish to live in, whether in terms of employment, travel, agriculture, fishery, foreign and security policy or the environment
The European Parliament
- appoints the President of the European Commission and approves the members of the Commission
- decides on EU legislation together with the European Commission
- decides on the EU budget together with the European Commission
- approves the accession of new Member States to the EU and important international treaties
- oversees the European Commission and other EU agencies and ensures that they operate according to democratic principles
MEPs form parliamentary groups based on political views, not nationalities.