Elections

You can find information on elections on the elections website of the Ministry of Justice(external link, opens in a new window).

The Electoral Office is responsible for practical arrangements concerning elections.

City of Espoo Central Election Committee
P.O. Box 12
FI-02070 CITY OF ESPOO

Tel. +358 9 81673928
E-mail: vaalit(at)espoo.fi

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.

The municipal Central Election Committee is responsible for organising elections in the municipality.

Both elections are held every four years. The next county and municipal elections will be held simultaneously on Sunday 15 April 2029.

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.

Information about the 2025 county and municipal elections:

Congratulations to the newly elected council members

The advance voting period in the county and municipal elections is 2–8 April 2025 in Finland and 2–5 April 2025 abroad

Voting on election day 13 April 2025 in county and municipal elections

Public notice: master list of candidates

espoo.fi > city council  

luvn.fi > county council(external link, opens in a new window) (external link, opens in a new window)

vaalit.fi > county elections and municipal elections 2025(external link, opens in a new window) (external link, opens in a new window)

Parliament is Finland’s highest state body, whose main tasks are enacting legislation and deciding on state finances. Parliament approves the state budget for one calendar year at a time. It also oversees national financial administration and compliance with the budget. In addition, Parliament has authority in international affairs. 

The next parliamentary elections will be held in April 2027.

Election day is Sunday 18 April 2027.
The advance voting period is 7–13 April 2027 in Finland and 7–10 April 2027 abroad.

The President of the Republic of Finland is elected by direct popular vote, in two rounds if necessary. The President is elected for a term of six years. The same person may be elected President for no more than two consecutive terms.

The previous presidential election was held in January and February 2024. The next presidential election will be held on Sunday 27 January 2030.

Information about the 2024 presidential election:

Advance voting period in second round of presidential election is 31 January–6 February 2024 (published 29 January 2024)

Advance voting period in presidential election is 17–23 January 2024 (published 27 December 2023)

The next presidential election will be held on Sunday 27 January 2030. 

Read more on the elections website of the Ministry of Justice: vaalit.fi/en/presidential-election(external link, opens in a new window) 

The European Parliament is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union (EU). By voting, you will have a say in who represents Finland in the European Parliament. Fifteen Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected in Finland. You can vote for any Finnish candidate. European elections are held in all member states every five years. 

The previous European elections were held in June 2024. The next elections will be held in 2029. 

Read more about the European elections: 

https://vaalit.fi/en/european-elections(external link, opens in a new window)

Information about the European elections in Espoo in 2024 (published 20 May 2024)

Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa have published their common objectives for the upcoming term of the European Parliament (published on 8 May 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.

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.

• 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.

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).