The advance voting period for Finland’s first county elections is 12-18 January 2022 and the election day is 23 January 2022. By voting in the county elections, you will be able to influence who decides on your social and health care services in the Pirkanmaa welfare area for years to come.
Welfare areas will provide students with all social and health care services that are not covered by the FSHS. These services, such as special health care, emergency care, and some primary care examinations, are needed by many students. This is why it is important that students’ voices are also heard in decision-making in welfare areas.
The survey of university students’ health (KOTT 2021), that was published in December, found that 63% of students who needed mental health services felt that they had received too few services. By voting in the county elections, you will be able to influence how students’ mental health services and care chains work in the future. For example, the selection of psychotherapy supported by Kela is decided by the persons selected in these elections.
If you are still looking for your own candidate, check out voting aid applications! This is the easiest way to find a candidate close to your thoughts. Remember to vote!
More on the county elections
The reform of social welfare and healthcare (sote-uudistus) will enter into force on 1 January 2023. In the reform, responsibility for organising social welfare and healthcare services and rescue services will be transferred from municipalities to 21 wellbeing services counties. By voting in the county elections, you can have a say on who will decide on important matters that concern everyone’s daily life. The councillors to be elected in the county elections will decide on the organisation of local services in the wellbeing services counties as of the beginning of 2023.
The first county elections will be held on Sunday 23 January 2022. The advance voting period in Finland is 12–18 January 2022. You may vote in county elections if you are a citizen of Finland, another European Union member state, Iceland or Norway and you meet the following conditions:
- you have turned 18 by election day (23 January 2022)
- you have a municipality of residence in Finland, in a municipality that belongs to a wellbeing services county on 3 December 2021
If you are a citizen of some other country, you may vote in the county elections if:
- you have turned 18 by election day (23 January 2022)
- You have a municipality of residence in Finland, in a municipality that belongs to a wellbeing services county on 3 December 2021
- you have had a municipality of residence in one of the regions of Finland continuously for at least two years before 3 December 2021
More information about voting at county elections can be found on the election website.