(AGENPARL) – Mon 14 April 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG028(2025)
Council of Europe Congress: High level of trust in institutions in local elections in Finland
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.
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).
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.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is an institution of the Council of Europe, responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy in its 46 member states. Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, it brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.
President of the Congress: Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions : Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD).
Political groups: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats (SOC/G/PD), Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP/CCE), Independent Liberal and Democratic Group (ILDG), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).
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