Election day for county and municipal elections is Sunday 13 April 2025

Sunday 13 April is election day for the 2025 county elections and municipal elections. Polling stations will be open on election day from 9.00 to 20.00. Preliminary results of the elections will be announced starting at 20.00.

The 2025 county elections and municipal elections will be held simultaneously, but they are two separate elections. In the county elections, voters may only vote for a candidate standing for election in their own wellbeing services county, while in the municipal elections, voters may only vote for a candidate standing for election in their own municipality of residence. The candidates and their candidate numbers can be found in the Information and Result Service of the Ministry of Justice. The lists of candidates will also be displayed in the voting booths.

Residents of Helsinki will only vote in the municipal elections. The City of Helsinki and Åland do not belong to any wellbeing services county but are responsible for organising health, social and rescue services in their area themselves, which means that residents of Helsinki and Åland will not vote in the country elections. Municipal elections are not conducted in Åland at the same time as elsewhere in Finland, but the next municipal elections will be held there in autumn 2027.  

Voting on election day is possible at the polling station specified in the polling card

On election day, voters can only vote at the polling station of their own voting district. The polling card tells each voter where to vote on election day. A voter can also find their polling station using the Polling Station Service run by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Polling stations will be open on election day from 9.00 to 20.00. If there is a queue at a polling station at 20.00, all those who have arrived at the polling station by that time will still be allowed to vote.

Polling cards have been sent to all eligible voters either by post or electronically via Suomi.fi Messages according to the voter’s choice. Around 1.5 million eligible voters have given their consent for all official messages to be sent to them electronically and thus received their polling card via Suomi.fi Messages. Voters may access their electronic polling card at Suomi.fi Web Service after identification or using the Suomi.fi mobile application on their device. More information about the service is available at suomi.fi/messages.

Proving identity at polling station

Voters must present proof of their identity when voting at a polling station. Official photo IDs, such as passports, driving licences and identity cards issued by the police, are accepted as proof of identity. It is essential that an election official can reliably verify the voter's identity based on the document.

Voters who do not have a valid proof of identity can obtain a temporary identity card free of charge from the police for voting purposes. A passport photo is required for a temporary identity card. The photo may not be older than six months.

Right to vote in municipal and county elections

In the 2025 county elections, citizens of Finland, other EU Member States, Iceland and Norway who reside in a wellbeing services county and reach the age of 18 years on election day 13 April 2025 at the latest are entitled to vote. In addition, other foreign citizens who reach the age 18 years on election day at the latest and reside in a wellbeing services county are entitled to vote if they have resided in Finland uninterruptedly for at least two years. Residents of Helsinki do not have the right to vote in the county elections.

In the 2025 municipal elections, citizens of Finland, other EU Member States, Iceland and Norway who reside in the municipality in question and reach the age of 18 years on election day 13 April 2025 at the latest are entitled to vote. In addition, other foreign citizens aged 18 or over who reside in the municipality are entitled to vote if they have resided in Finland uninterruptedly for at least two years.

Furthermore, persons employed by the EU and certain international organisations and their family members residing in a wellbeing services county or a municipality are entitled to vote under certain conditions.

Preliminary results to be published on Sunday 13 April from 20.00 onwards

Preliminary election results will be published on the evening of election day starting at 20.00. More precise results will be made available as the vote count progresses. Due to the great number of candidates in these elections, it may take longer than usual for the preliminary results to be ready.

The information to be published in the Information and Result Service includes the number and percentage of votes and the number of seats received by each political party and the number of votes received by each candidate in the wellbeing services counties and municipalities. Once the vote count has been completed, the results will also be made available as downloadable CSV files.

The recount of votes cast in the county and municipal elections will take place on Monday following election day, 14 April. The confirmed, final election results will be available on Wednesday 16 April.

Inquiries:
Laura Nurminen, Senior Specialist, tel. + 358 295 150 008, [email protected]
Elina Rissanen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 150 248, [email protected]
Arto Jääskeläinen, Director of Electoral Administration, tel. 358 295 150 128, [email protected]