CoE/Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Finns Trust Institutions in Local Elections: Congress
A 19-member Congress election observation delegation, led by Gobnait Ni Mhuimneacain (Ireland, ILDG), concluded yesterday its mission to observe the municipal and county elections which were held in Finland on Sunday 13 April 2025.
On election day, nine Congress teams visited some 110 randomly selected polling stations from opening to closing and counting throughout the country. This on-site mission was preceded by meetings on 11-12 April with key election stakeholders and representatives of the diplomatic corps, the media and NGOs. The delegation also held discussions with political parties and candidates running in the 2025 elections.
Overall, the delegation observed a calm, transparent and well-managed election day, with no major incidents or anomalies and in line with European electoral standards. The delegation commended the professional, transparent and efficient conduct of procedures in all polling stations visited, with these two elections held on the same day for the first time in Finland. However, as the Congress recommended in 2017, the delegation noted that polling station commissioners could benefit from systematic and compulsory training for all staff in order to further standardise the electoral procedures.
Commenting on the overall mission, Head of delegation Gobnait Ni Mhuimneacain noted:
“We welcomed the great inclusiveness of the electoral process in Finland, which provided many opportunities for all residents to vote on election day and in advance, including non-Finnish citizens, voters with disabilities and those in institutions. Our delegation was unanimously impressed by the advanced voting procedure which widened the opportunity for all to take part of these elections.
“In addition to a sound legal framework, these aspects contributed to an open and representative election process and embodied the strong tradition of local democracy in Finland, supported by a high level of trust in institutions and a culture of consensus.
“At the same time, we found that both candidates and voters were uncertain regarding the role and the relevance of the well-being services counties, and we encourage national authorities to implement the Congress Recommendation (2024) 516 on the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Finland, on this issue in particular. The high number of candidates running for multiple positions added to the confusion. “
On election day procedure, despite the well organised voting operations, we noted a few areas for improvement, in particular regarding a more standardised use of ballot boxes and additional information on voting procedure in order to reduce the number of invalid ballots in the future. Moreover, some additional integrity safeguards during counting could be considered.
We welcomed that the campaign was competitive, personalised and respectful but marked by many posters being vandalised. The campaign on the ground was partly overshadowed by international and national issues, even though we observed that the media in Finland, in particular the local and regional media, provided fair and balanced information to all voters.
Moreover, as the Congress previously noted, more could be done to improve the transparency of campaign finance, as the current system makes financial reporting voluntary. Only about a fifth of municipal candidates used this opportunity to disclose their funding sources before election day, with large differences between parties. As many candidates seem to rely on private donations to fund their campaigns, voters should be able to obtain this information in time to make a fully informed choice and to ensure no candidate is unduly favoured. We therefore recommend making financial reporting compulsory for all candidates standing in elections.
Overall, yesterday’s election displayed a healthy commitment to local democracy in Finland. Last but not least, we were impressed by the very high number of women standing as candidates, with Finland approaching gender parity, a goal that all Council of Europe member States should strive to achieve.
Further to the Congress mission, a draft recommendation will be discussed at the next Congress session in October 2025 in Strasbourg (France).
Photo gallery
Congress webpage on the observation of local and regional elections
Observing local and regional elections is one of the statutory activities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. This activity complements the political monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which constitutes the cornerstone of local and regional democracy in Europe. It contributes to ensuring the integrity of elections and building voters’ confidence at grassroots’ level. Since 1990, the Congress has conducted about 120 election observation missions in some of the 46 Council of Europe member states and beyond.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/congress-high-level-of-trust-in-institutions-in-local-elections-in-finland