The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe commended competitive and peaceful local and county elections in Finland held on 13 April 2025, in a recommendation adopted on 28 October 2025.
Presenting the results of the Congress’ election observation mission, rapporteurs Gobnait Ní Mhuimneacáin (Ireland, L, ILDG) and Kristoffer Tamsons (Sweden, R, EPP/CCE) noted that the Congress delegation, which visited 110 polling stations, found that elections were well-organised and that the democratic process benefitted from a high level of trust of all stakeholders.
In the context of the recent establishment of the wellbeing service counties in Finland, county and municipal elections were held for the first time on the same day. The election administration conducted its duties in a timely, professional and independent manner; the election campaign was competitive and peaceful, focused on county and municipal issues; and voters were presented with balanced and in-depth coverage by the media. While youth and non-Finnish residents remained underrepresented as voters and candidates, the newly elected councils successfully approached gender parity.
The election day proceeded calmly and peacefully, with no major procedural shortcomings or inconsistencies. At the same time, the dual election caused some confusion among voters on candidate selection, while the roles and responsibilities of the newly established counties remained unclear to most. This situation resulted in an unusually high number of ballot papers being declared invalid.
While the overall assessment was positive, the Congress recommended strengthening the electoral dispute framework to ensure a timely redress, expanding the requirements of campaign finance disclosure to all candidates, reinforcing voter education on voting procedures and making training compulsory for all members of election commissions. Finland was also encouraged to reinforce local and regional democracy, including boosting civic participation, notably of youth and non-Finnish residents, considering incentives for local councils to elect mayors in order to strengthen local political leadership, as well as introducing clauses to limit cumulative political mandates.
Observation of county and municipal elections in Finland (13 April 2025)
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