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Voting in parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections are held in April every four years.

Finland is divided in to 13 electoral districts. They are Lapland, Oulu, Vaasa, Central Finland, Savo-Karelia, Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Southwest Finland, Häme, Southeast Finland, Uusimaa, Helsinki and Åland. In the parliamentary elections, you may only vote for a candidate in your own electoral district.

Who's allowed to vote?

  • You may vote in the parliamentary elections if you are a Finnish citizen and have reached the age of 18 by the election day.

How can I vote?

  • You may vote in advance at any of the advance polling stations in Finland or abroad. On the election day, you may only vote at your own polling station. The polling station is indicated on the notice of the right to vote that will be mailed before the elections to every person entitled to vote. If you have activated Suomi.fi Messages, you'll receive the notice electronically to Suomi.fi Messages. Activate Suomi.fi Messages.
  • Elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and chronically ill that are unable to reach the polling station may request support so that they can vote at home. The necessary voting arrangements must be made with the municipal central election board.
  • You need to prove your identity at the polling station. You do not need the notice stating that you are entitled to vote. Even though you do not need the notice of the right to vote at the polling station it may be useful when you are voting in advance outside Finland. In those situations, the notice  will speed up the voting process.
  • If you are staying abroad or live permanently abroad during the election, you can vote by post. An eligible voter wishing to vote by post has to order the postal voting documents from Finland to an address abroad.

Read more about elections on Vaalit.fiOpens in a new window.


Text edited by: Suomi.fi editorial team
Updated: 16/2/2023