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Elections in Finland
There are five types of elections in Finland: elections for the president, the parliament, county councils of the wellbeing services counties, municipal councils and the European Parliament. Normally, all Finnish citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote. Some non-citizens may also have the right to vote in municipal, county and European elections.
Finland holds a presidential election every six years to elect the President of Finland. The election uses a two-round system based on a direct popular vote. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff is held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. The same person can serve as president for no more than two consecutive terms.
Parliamentary elections are held every four years to elect members of the parliament. The elections use a system of proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies and allocate seats according to the D'Hondt method. Finland has a multi-party system making it uncommon for a single party to achieve a majority in parliament. As a result, Finnish governments are typically formed through coalition agreements involving multiple political parties.
County and municipal elections are held every four years at the same time to elect the councils of the 21 wellbeing services counties and 292 municipalities. In Åland, municipal elections are held separately, at the same time as the election of the Parliament of Åland.
European Parliament elections are held every five years. Finland is allocated 15 seats in the European Parliament.
The president of Finland is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. Since 1988, the election has followed a two-round system. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, they are elected president. If no candidate achieves a majority, the two candidates with the most votes proceed to a second round, where the candidate with more votes is elected president. The first round is usually held on the fourth Sunday of January in the election year, with the potential second round taking place two weeks later.
Political parties that won at least one seat in the previous parliamentary election are eligible to nominate a presidential candidate. Additionally, candidates can be nominated by constituency associations formed by at least 20,000 eligible voters. These associations must collect and submit the required number of signatures to register their candidate. In 2018, incumbent Sauli Niinistö became the first president elected as a candidate of a constituency association, having previously been elected as the candidate of the National Coalition Party. He also became the first president in Finland to win the election in the first round.
An election was last held in 2024, with the first round on 28 January and second round on 11 February. Alexander Stubb won in the second round receiving 51.62% of the votes, facing against independent candidate Pekka Haavisto.
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Elections in Finland
There are five types of elections in Finland: elections for the president, the parliament, county councils of the wellbeing services counties, municipal councils and the European Parliament. Normally, all Finnish citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote. Some non-citizens may also have the right to vote in municipal, county and European elections.
Finland holds a presidential election every six years to elect the President of Finland. The election uses a two-round system based on a direct popular vote. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff is held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. The same person can serve as president for no more than two consecutive terms.
Parliamentary elections are held every four years to elect members of the parliament. The elections use a system of proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies and allocate seats according to the D'Hondt method. Finland has a multi-party system making it uncommon for a single party to achieve a majority in parliament. As a result, Finnish governments are typically formed through coalition agreements involving multiple political parties.
County and municipal elections are held every four years at the same time to elect the councils of the 21 wellbeing services counties and 292 municipalities. In Åland, municipal elections are held separately, at the same time as the election of the Parliament of Åland.
European Parliament elections are held every five years. Finland is allocated 15 seats in the European Parliament.
The president of Finland is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. Since 1988, the election has followed a two-round system. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round, they are elected president. If no candidate achieves a majority, the two candidates with the most votes proceed to a second round, where the candidate with more votes is elected president. The first round is usually held on the fourth Sunday of January in the election year, with the potential second round taking place two weeks later.
Political parties that won at least one seat in the previous parliamentary election are eligible to nominate a presidential candidate. Additionally, candidates can be nominated by constituency associations formed by at least 20,000 eligible voters. These associations must collect and submit the required number of signatures to register their candidate. In 2018, incumbent Sauli Niinistö became the first president elected as a candidate of a constituency association, having previously been elected as the candidate of the National Coalition Party. He also became the first president in Finland to win the election in the first round.
An election was last held in 2024, with the first round on 28 January and second round on 11 February. Alexander Stubb won in the second round receiving 51.62% of the votes, facing against independent candidate Pekka Haavisto.