County elections

In county elections, a county council is elected for each wellbeing services county. The wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services as of 1 January 2023. The wellbeing services counties are autonomous, and the highest decision-making power in each county is exercised by a county council. Provisions on the wellbeing services counties are laid down in the Act on Wellbeing Services Counties (611/2021). County elections are conducted at the same time as municipal elections.

Wellbeing services counties constitute electoral districts for county elections 

Your place of residence determines the wellbeing services county in which you are entitled to vote. Each wellbeing services county has its own candidates, and you can only vote for the candidates standing for election in your wellbeing services county. There are 21 wellbeing services counties. The residents of Helsinki will not vote in the county elections, because the City of Helsinki will continue to be responsible for social, health and rescue services in Helsinki. Another exception is Åland, which is not affected by the health and social services reform.