Municipal, county polls´ advance ballot begins

The advance voting in the municipal and county elections in Finland begins on Wednesday.

Advance voting will be held in the country from April 2 to April 8 and abroad between April 2 and April 5.

The general advance polling stations in Finland are listed separately for each municipality, along with contact information, opening days and hours. Each person entitled to vote may do so at any general advance polling station.

The general advance polling stations abroad are listed separately for each country and any person entitled to vote may do so at a Finnish mission abroad.

The general advance polling stations in Finland and abroad are the same for both county elections and municipal elections.

A person entitled to vote may do so either in advance or on election day. If voting in advance, this may be done at any general advance polling station.

It is necessary to present an identity document to cast vote.

Elections to the 308 municipalities and 21 counties will be held all over the country simultaneously on April 13.

A total of 29,950 candidates will contest in the municipal elections while 10,097 in the county elections, according to the Ministry of Justice, the authority to hold elections in the country.

A total of 39,75,916 voters- 20,08,574 women and 19,67,342 men- are eligible to cast votes in the elections this year.

In the municipal elections, voters will elect representatives for municipal councils for next four years who will decide on the activities and finances of municipalities.

In the county elections, voters will elect representatives for county councils for next four years who will decide on the organisation and provision of health and social services and rescue services in wellbeing services counties.

Residents of Helsinki will only vote in the municipal elections, because Helsinki does not belong to a wellbeing services county. The City of Helsinki is responsible for health and social services and rescue services in Helsinki.