Right to vote in Finland

If you are a Nordic citizen, you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to vote in Finnish municipal elections, regional elections and consultative referendums in municipalities and wellbeing services counties, as well as in European Parliament elections if you are a Nordic citizen of a member state of the European Union. Only Finnish citizens are entitled to vote in Finnish parliamentary and presidential elections and national referendums.
 

Municipal elections

Citizens of Finland, other European Union member states, Iceland and Norway are entitled to vote in Finnish municipal elections if they reach the age of 18 no later than on the election day and their municipality of residence was the municipality in question on the 51st day before the election day.

Citizens of other states are also entitled to vote if they reach the age of 18 no later than on the election day and their municipality of residence was the municipality in question on the 51st day before the election day and their municipality of residence at that time has been in Finland for at least two years without interruption.

Persons employed by the European Union or an international organisation operating in Finland are also entitled to vote if they reach the age of 18 no later than on the election day and their municipality of residence was the municipality in question on the 51st day before the election day. A further requirement that their data have been entered in the Population Information System at their request and that they have notified the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in writing that they wish to exercise their right to vote in the municipal elections no later than the 52nd day before the election day. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

A person is eligible to stand for election in his or her municipality of residence, i.e. can stand for election in municipal elections if he or she is entitled to vote in the elections concerned and has not been declared legally incompetent. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

Municipal elections are held every four years.

In European Parliament elections held in Finland, every Finnish citizen who has reached the age of 18 no later than on the election day is entitled to vote, regardless of their place of residence.

Voting is also open to citizens of any other member state of the European Union who have reached the age of 18 no later than on the election day and who have their place of residence in Finland on the 51st day before the election day or who are employed by the European Union or an international organisation operating in Finland or are a family member of such a person and live in Finland. However, the right to vote requires that the person has not lost the right to stand as a candidate in their home country and that they are registered to vote in Finland. Registration must be made no later than the 80th day before the election day with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Read more on the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

If you are entitled to vote, you may vote in the same elections to the European Parliament in one EU member state only: either your home country or the country where you live.

A Finnish citizen who has registered to vote in the elections to the European Parliament in another EU member state in the time limit laid down is not entitled to vote in the elections to the European Parliament in Finland. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

Elections to the European Parliament are held every five years.

All Finnish citizens who reach the age of 18 no later than on the election day are entitled to vote in Finnish parliamentary elections irrespective of their place of residence. All Finnish citizens living abroad can also vote in Finnish parliamentary elections. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

Any person entitled to vote who is not legally incompetent can stand for election, with the exception of certain senior civil servants and persons holding military office. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

Finnish parliamentary elections are held every four years.

All Finnish citizens who reach the age of 18 no later than on the first day of the election are entitled to vote in presidential elections. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

The President of the Republic must be a native Finnish citizen. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

The President of the Republic is elected every six years.

Voting rights in regional elections are determined in the same way as in municipal elections. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

To be eligible to stand for election in a regional election, you must reside in the wellbeing services county concerned, be entitled to vote in regional elections and not have been declared legally incompetent. Certain state officials and persons employed by the wellbeing services county or joint county authority for wellbeing services are not eligible to stand as candidates in regional elections. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

The right to vote in an advisory referendum in a municipality or wellbeing services county is determined in the same way as in municipal elections. Read more on Vaalit.fi.

The right to vote in a national advisory referendum is determined in the same way as in parliamentary elections. So far two national referendums have been held in Finland: on abolition of the Prohibition Act in 1931 and on accession to the European Union in 1994. Read more on Vaalit.fi.