County elections and municipal elections on Sunday 13 April 2025
County elections and municipal elections will be held simultaneously on Sunday 13 April 2025. The advance voting period is from 2 to 8 April 2025 in Finland and from 2 to 5 April 2025 abroad.
In the county elections, voters will elect councillors to the county councils that decide on the organisation and provision of health, social and rescue services in the wellbeing services counties, while in the municipal elections, voters will elect councillors to the municipal councils that decide on the activities and finances of municipalities.
Residents of Helsinki and Åland are an exception
Residents of Helsinki and Åland will not vote in the county 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.
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.
Who can vote in county elections and municipal 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 aged 18 or over who 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.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency has sent a polling card to all eligible voters either by post or electronically via Suomi.fi Messages. In these elections, as many as 1.5 million eligible voters received their polling card via Suomi.fi Messages.
Candidates
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.
Each candidate has a candidate number. Candidate numbers in the county elections start from the number 2002, and candidate numbers in the municipal elections start from the number 2. Candidate information is available online in the Information and Result Service.
Political parties entered in the party register and constituency associations established by eligible voters may nominate candidates in the elections.
Proving identity at polling station
Voters must present proof of their identity at the polling station. Official photo IDs, such as passports, driving licences and identity cards issued by the police, are accepted as proof of identity.
Advance voting in Finland and abroad
Eligible voters may vote in advance at any of the general advance polling stations in Finland or abroad.
The addresses and opening hours of the advance polling stations in Finland and abroad can be found in the Information and Result Service and in the Polling Station Service run by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency at www.aanestyspaikat.fi.
The Elections Helpline of the Ministry of Justice will answer voters’ questions concerning advance polling stations and other matters related to the elections. Calls to these numbers are free of charge:
• 0800 9 4770 (service in Finnish)
• 0800 9 4771 (service in Swedish).
Voters can also send election-related questions on WhatsApp (050 438 8730).
Persons whose ability to move and function is so limited that they are unable to go to a polling station without unreasonable difficulty may vote in advance in their own home. Those who wish to do so must notify the central municipal election board of their municipality of this by 16.00 on Tuesday 1 April 2025.
Persons residing or staying abroad for the entire advance voting period and on election day may vote by post from abroad. An eligible voter wishing to vote by post must order the postal voting documents to an address located abroad in advance, cast their vote after receiving the documents, and send the ballot to the central municipal election board of their municipality in Finland. A postal vote must arrive at the central municipal election board of the voter's municipality of residence or population registration municipality by 19.00 on Friday 11 April 2025. More detailed instructions are available at electionsfinland.fi.
Voting on election day 13 April
All polling stations will be open on election day from 9.00 to 20.00. On election day, voters may only cast their vote in Finland and at the polling station specified on their polling card. Voters may also search for their election day polling station by entering their permanent home address in the Polling Station Service of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency at www.aanestyspaikat.fi.
Vote count will begin on election day and confirmed results will be published on 16 April
The vote count will start on election day. The counting of advance votes will begin while the voting still continues, and the preliminary counting of votes cast on election day will begin immediately after the polling stations have closed. Preliminary information on the vote count will be published starting at 20.00 on election day. Preliminary election results will be available during the evening and the following night. Due to the great number of candidates in these elections, it may take longer than usual for the preliminary results to be ready.
The recount of votes cast in the county elections and the municipal elections will take place on Monday following election day, 14 April. The confirmed, final election results will be available on Wednesday 16 April.
The term of office of the newly elected county councils and municipal councils will begin on 1 June 2025.
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 50128, [email protected]
Information and Result Service
- Advance polling stations and their opening hours
- Candidates and candidate numbers
- Numbers of advance voters (to be updated every hour, also on weekends)
- Progress of the preliminary vote count on election day
- Confirmed, final results once the recount of the votes is complete on Wednesday 16 April.
Information on county elections, municipal elections and voting
The Polling Station Service of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency
Search engine for wellbeing services counties
Electionsfinland.fi on Facebook
Election videos on Youtube
