More than 80 percent of people in Finland plan to vote in the 2025 municipal elections, according to findings of a new survey from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
Among those aged 70–79, nearly 90 percent of respondents expressed their intent to vote. More than 10,000 people answered the survey between May and June.
Compared to parliamentary or presidential elections, voter turnout for municipal elections usually tends to be quite low.
For example voter turnout in the 2021 municipal elections, was 55.1 percent, and in 2017, it was 58.9 percent.
Meanwhile, turnout for the parliamentary elections in 2023 was nearly 72 percent.
"Municipal and regional elections are vital to our everyday lives, so it is encouraging to see so many planning to vote in next spring's double elections. The last municipal elections were held during the Covid pandemic, resulting in a historically low turnout of 55.1 percent, " Minna Karhunen, the association's CEO, said in a statement.
Finland will hold its municipal and county council elections on 13 April 2025. The county council elections, introduced in 2021, offered voters an opportunity to select assembly members who handle local social and healthcare services.
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