Kuntavaalit

Each one of us uses municipal services every day without, perhaps, even thinking about it.

There is no functional society without municipalities

The central role of municipalities in our everyday life cannot be emphasised enough. It is precisely municipalities that will decide how to develop, for example, basic education, early childhood education, street maintenance, culture, vitality in the form of sports and cultural services in the coming years. They will also be responsible for making the necessary adaptations to combat climate change.

The world’s best education is carried out in municipalities

In Finland, municipalities are responsible for providing equal education from early childhood education to basic and upper secondary level education until the end of the compulsory education age of 18! And, for the most part, completely free of charge.

Supporting local cultural life

Municipalities organise cultural activities and support local associations and artists. They offer diverse cultural services, such as libraries, theatres, art museums, hobbies and basic art education as well as cultural events and facilities for diverse uses. This helps to promote a diverse local cultural life and the well-being of local residents.

Vitality is the life force of municipalities

What makes a municipality vital? A vital municipality is one where businesses flourish, people thrive and the environment is respected. Such a municipality attracts new residents, skilled employees and investments, thereby ensuring vitality for its future as well.

Municipalities have unique opportunities to act as promoters of vitality. They are responsible for organising employment and integration services and they know local needs better than anyone else.

Did you know that Finland's municipalities are home to more than 30,000 sports facilities?

That’s a fact and it means that municipalities can offer a breathtaking number of different sports services! Here in Finland, municipalities promote recreation for all ages, thereby contributing to the well-being of their residents.

Libraries are the favoured front-runner among municipal services

Municipal services are a mainstay of everyday life for many of us. According to our surveys, the following five services are the absolute favourites of municipality residents:

Library services
Sports services
Water management and sewerage
Waste management
Adult education centres

High-quality early childhood education for the youngest residents

Every day, municipalities carry out important work for children. Good early childhood education supports the growth and learning of children and provides families with valuable support in their busy daily lives.

Climate work on the local level

Did you know that 90% of the inhabitants of Finland already live in municipalities that have set their own climate goal? Municipalities perform local climate acts every day: A total of 160 municipalities have prepared or are working on a climate plan.

Municipalities are local superheroes that contribute to land use planning, traffic, services and environmental education. They aim at both fighting climate change and preparing for the future.

The world’s purest water from the taps

Municipalities offer their residents and businesses safe and high-quality water, which, by the way, is the purest in the world.

More accessible employment services

From the beginning of 2025, employment and economic development services (TE services) became part of the basic services offered by municipalities. This means that the services are now more flexible, more effective and more focused on specific local needs.

Municipalities know their residents and businesses best, and can, therefore, tailor their services to suit both jobseekers and employers – according to their individual needs.

The local touch makes a difference. TE services are located where they are truly needed.

Municipalities organise education and early childhood education

1. Early childhood education

2. Preschool education

3. Basic education, grades 1–9

4. Special needs education

5. Morning and after-school activities

6. School transport for children in preschool and basic education

7. General upper secondary education

8. Vocational education

9. Adult education centres

Municipalities organise cultural and leisure services

1. Libraries

2. Cultural services, such as theatres, art museums and orchestras

3. Basic art education, such as music institutes, circus and theatre schools, visual art schools

4. Sports services, such as nature trails, sports halls, swimming pools

5. Youth services

Municipalities develop their local surroundings and housing

1. Municipal housing supply

2. Municipal plot supply

3. Building supervision, i.e., building licences and planning

4. Land use planning

5. Public transport

6. Road and street management

7. Pedestrian routes and bikeways and outdoor routes

8. Green areas, tidiness of environment

9. Environmental protection, including air quality, noise notifications, property-specific wastewater treatment

10. Waste management

11. Water supply management

12. Supply of energy and heat

In addition to these, municipalities have other important functions, such as

Promotion of local vitality
Employment, economic development and integration services
Increasing the residents’ opportunities to participate and organising elections
Municipalities have hundreds of duties. The majority of them are defined by law. Furthermore, municipalities can take over various voluntary tasks.

Time to local elections

The next local election will be held in April 2025

The actual election day is 13 April 2025, but advance voting is possible from 2 to 8 April 2025. Local elections are held to elect local councillors. As members of the local council, the councillors decide on the finances, services and strategy of the municipality and widely influence other decision-making structures within the municipality.

The central role of municipalities in our everyday life cannot be emphasised enough. It is precisely municipalities that will decide how to develop, for example, basic education, early childhood education, street maintenance, culture, vitality in the form of sports and cultural services in the coming years. They will also be responsible for making the necessary adaptations to combat climate change.

When you vote in local elections, your vote helps promote a good everyday life and ensure a good future for children and adolescents

This is your chance to have a say in who makes decisions in your municipality – decisions concerning daily services, education and the environment as well as culture and climate actions. Municipal decision-makers are closest in proximity to our everyday life and their decisions influence each of us.

292 different elections

Each municipality is different, which means that, actually, we will have 292 separate local elections – one in each municipality of mainland Finland! The diversity of municipalities is a resource: each municipality can influence its own future with the decisions it makes.

Now, if ever, we need bold, co-operative decision-makers who can look towards the future and possess the motivation and skills to steer municipal affairs in the right direction.