The Electoral Office is established before each election under the administration of the Central Election Committee’s secretaries. The Electoral Office takes care of the advance arrangements and materials for voting in advance, voting at home or at institutions and voting on election day.
Both elections are held every four years. The next county and municipal elections will be held simultaneously on 13 April 2025. The advance voting period is 2–8 April 2025 in Finland and 2–5 April 2025 abroad.
By voting, you can have a say in who will make decisions on important everyday matters that affect us all for the next four years.
In the county elections, voters elect their representatives to county councils, which are responsible for organising health, social and rescue services in the wellbeing services counties. The Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County consists of Espoo, Hanko, Ingå, Karkkila, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi, Lohja, Raseborg, Siuntio and Vihti.
In the municipal elections, voters elect their representatives to municipal councils, which make decisions on municipal operations and finances. Espoo City Council has 75 members.
In the parliamentary elections, 200 representatives nationwide are elected to the Finnish Parliament for a 4-year term. A total of 37 representatives are elected from the Uusimaa electoral district, which includes Espoo.
Parliament is Finland’s highest government body, which enacts legislation in Finland and decides on the state budget. Parliament also has competence over international matters.
Election day for the 2027 parliamentary elections is Sunday 18 April 2027.
The 2024 presidential election was held in January-February 2024.
All Finnish citizens who are aged 18 or over have the right to vote. This means that Finnish citizens over the age of 18 can vote in elections.
If you turn 18 on election day, you get to vote.
As an EU citizen, you can vote in the European Parliament elections by registering to vote at least 80 days in advance.
You can vote in the county elections if you live in a wellbeing services county, are a citizen of Finland, another EU country, Iceland or Norway, and have reached the age of 18 no later than on election day. If you are a citizen of some other country living in the wellbeing services county, you can vote in the elections if you are aged 18 or over and have lived in Finland for an uninterrupted period of at least two years. Espoo is part of the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County.
You can vote in the municipal elections if you live in a Finnish municipality, are a citizen of Finland, another EU country, Iceland or Norway, and have reached the age of 18 no later than on election day. If you are a citizen of some other country living in the municipality, you can vote in the elections if you are aged 18 or over and have lived in Finland for an uninterrupted period of at least two years. As a resident of Espoo, you vote for a person running for Espoo’s City Council.
Always go to the polling booth alone. Do not take photos at the polling station. Do not take a photo of your ballot paper.
You do not need the letter sent to you by post when you vote. A photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, is enough.
You do not have to tell anyone who you will vote or have voted for. You alone decide who to vote for. Nobody is allowed to pressure you to vote for a particular person.
Always go to the polling booth alone.
Only write your candidate’s number on the ballot paper. Do not write anything else on the ballot paper. You cannot vote online in Finland. Another person cannot vote for you.
Voting
Advance voting in Finland
Before the official election day, there is an advance voting period lasting one week. You can vote in advance if you, for example, cannot go to the polling station on the official election day.
Advance voting is also possible in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, the military, and Finnish embassies around the world.
You do not need to have the letter sent to you by post (notice of right to vote) with you when voting. A photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, is enough.
Voting on election day
You do not need the letter sent to you by post when you vote. A photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, is enough.
You do not have to tell anyone who you will vote or have voted for. You alone decide who to vote for. Nobody is allowed to pressure you to vote for a particular person.
Always go to the polling booth alone.
Do not take photos at the polling station. Do not take a photo of your ballot paper.
Only write your candidate’s number on the ballot paper. Do not write anything else on the ballot paper. You cannot vote online in Finland. Another person cannot vote for you.
Finland has its own Election Act (714/1998). It determines, for example, how elections should be organised and who can vote.
All parties that are in the Finnish Parliament participate in the organisation of elections. The representatives of the parties participate, for example, in the counting of votes and various tasks at polling stations.
Advance voting abroad
A person entitled to vote can vote abroad in one of the following ways:
Voting at an embassy
Voting by post
Voting on Finnish ships (for crew only).
You do not have to tell anyone who you will vote or have voted for. You alone decide who to vote for. Nobody is allowed to pressure you to vote for a particular person.
Finland has its own Election Act (714/1998). It determines, for example, how elections should be organised and who can vote.
