There are four types of elections in Finland. Each Finnish citizen at least 18 years of age has the right to vote in each of the elections, which decide the following: the president, the parliament, the MEPs, and the municipal and city councils.

Finland has a presidential election every six years, in which a President of Finland is elected in two rounds on the basis of a direct popular vote.

Parliamentary elections are held every four years with a system of proportional representation in multiple seat constituencies. Finnish parliamentary elections use the D'Hondt method. Finland has a multi-party system wherein it is uncommon for a single party to achieve a majority in eduskunta; thus most Finnish governments consist of coalitions.

European Parliament elections are held every five years. Finland has 14 seats in the European Parliament.

Municipal elections are held every four years. Municipal elections are held separately in the Municipalities of Åland at the same time as the election of the Parliament of Åland. A new type of election, aluevaalit, was made by the Marin Cabinet in  which determines the councils of each of the country's 21 welfare area. The first aluevaalit will be held in 2022.

Presidential elections

The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term. An election was last held January 28, 2018 (there was no second round). See 2018 Finnish presidential election.

2018 Presidential election
The incumbent president Sauli Niinistö won in the first round receiving over 60% of the votes. Green League's candidate Pekka Haavisto came second, followed by Laura Huhtasaari of the Finns Party.

Parliamentary elections

Under Finland's parliamentary system the prime minister can ask the president to dissolve parliament at any time during its 4-year term, which would result in "early" elections. However, this has not occurred in the past two decades and general elections have been held every four years on the third Sunday in March in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. The 2011 parliamentary elections took place on 17 April 2011. The 2015 parliamentary elections took place on 19 April 2015.

The D'Hondt method of proportional representation, used in Finland, encourages a multitude of political parties and has resulted in many coalition-cabinets. The D'Hondt method, while easy to understand and use, tends to favor large, established political parties. For example: in 2007, there were 2,000 candidates representing 18 different parties (plus independents) running for the 200 seats, and those who were elected came from just eight parties. The Prime Minister of Finland is appointed by the president, based on the vote in the parliamentary elections. Usually the chairman of the biggest party becomes the next prime minister.

In the parliamentary elections of 16 March 2003, there were two dominating parties: the Centre Party got 55 seats and the Social Democratic Party got 53 in the 200-seat Parliament. A new cabinet was formed by the Centre Party and Social Democrats together with the Swedish People's Party.

In the parliamentary elections of 2007, the Center Party retained its lead at 51 seats, but the election was a major victory for the National Coalition, which got 50 seats, and a major loss to SDP, which got 45 seats, losing 8 seats. A new coalition cabinet, Vanhanen II, between Center, Coalition, Greens, and the Swedish People's Party was formed.

Åland's parliamentary elections

Åland is a province that accounts for 0.5% of Finland's population, a total population of 27,210. The Åland's autonomous political status under the Act on Åland Autonomy gives the Parliament of Åland legislative powers over a number of areas. Aside from these issues, the state of Finland, represented by the Provincial Governor, is sovereign and residents vote in general parliamentary elections for one representative to the Finnish parliament.

Elections in Åland are held every four years at the same time as municipal elections are held in the Municipalities of Åland. A proportional representation system encourages a multitude of political parties and has resulted in many coalition cabinets. Åland has different political parties than continental Finland.

The Premier of the Government of Åland, Lantråd, is appointed by the speaker of the Parliament, based on the vote in the parliamentary elections. Usually the chairman of the biggest party becomes the next prime minister. In the parliamentary elections on 21 October 2007 there were two dominating parties: the Liberals for Åland got 10 seats, and the Åland Centre got 8 seats, in the 30-seat Lagting. These parties then formed a new cabinet led by Viveka Eriksson.

Municipal elections

Municipalities of Finland, that include cities and other (rural) municipalities, are the basic local administrative units of the country. Most of basic services are provided by the municipality, and are bound to do so by law. Municipalities have council-manager government, where the council (valtuusto) is the highest authority. Every four years, a council is elected.

Councils name a civil servant, the city manager or municipal manager, to conduct day-to-day administration of the municipality. In addition, councils name committees (lautakunta) and a municipal executive board (kunnanhallitus). Councils meet periodically and decide on major issues. The executive board prepares the bills and is responsible for the administration, finances and supervision of the interests of the municipality. Unlike in central government, executive boards usually consist of all parties represented in the council; there is no opposition.

2017 municipal elections

Although municipal elections are local only, and local results vary, they do function as a measure of the sentiments and party strengths also nationally. In the 2017 election, National Coalition was the most-voted party, with Social Democrats second and Center the third. Proportionally, the biggest winner was the Green League, whose share of votes rose to 12.5% from 8.5% in 2012 municipal elections. The biggest losers were the Finns Party, whose share of votes dropped to 8.8% from 12.3% in 2012.

2021 municipal elections

EU elections
Finland has participated in European parliament elections since joining the European Union in 1995. The first Finnish election was held in 1996.

County elections 
Finland's first county elections were held in 2022.

Referendums
The Constitution of Finland allows only for a non-binding (consultative) referendum called on by the Parliament (Article 53 of the Constitution).

As of 2013 there have been only two referendums in Finland:
 Finnish prohibition referendum in 1931
 Finnish European Union membership referendum in 1994.
In both cases measures passed, and Parliament acted according to the results of the vote (although the referendum in Finland is non-binding).

Municipal law 30-31 § gives right to Referendum since year 1990. It had been used 56 times between 1990 and 2010. Citizens of Turku collected 15,000 names in one month for referendum against the underground car park. Politicians with in the elections unknown financing from the parking company neglected the citizens opinion. According to International Association of Public Transport UITP parking places are among the most effective ways to promote private car use in the city. Therefore, many European cities have cancelled the expensive underground car parking after the 1990s. The EU recommended actions cover develop guidance for concrete measures for the internalisation of external costs for car traffic also in urban areas. Parking control can only be successful if they are enforceable. In Finland the shops routinely offer free parking for customers which rises the prices of food for all customers, also for those who bicycle or walk.

There were also around 40 municipal referendums in Finland (as of 2006). Most have been about municipal mergers.

If 50 thousand Finnish citizens sign an initiative (for an act or a referendum), the Parliament has to discuss it, but the initiative is not binding, so the parliament does not have to initiate a referendum. This provision entered into force on 1 March 2013, and the first such initiative to reach Parliament was an initiative to ban fur farming, which was rejected by the Parliament. Several other initiatives reached the Parliament in 2013, including "Common Sense in Copyright" initiative, and a gay marriage initiative.

See also
 Government of Finland
 President of Finland
 List of political parties in Finland
 List of political parties in Åland
 Electoral calendar
 Electoral system

External links
 Finnish Ministry of Justice website about elections in Finland
 Adam Carr's Election Archive
 NSD: European Election Database - Finland publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1991–2007
 Findicator - Voting turnout in the Parliamentary Elections since 1908

References

 
Politics of Finland
핀란드의 선거()는 네 가지 선거로 이루어져 있다. 대통령선거, 의회선거, 지방선거, 유럽의회선거가 그것이다. 18세 이상의 모든 핀란드 시민은 공민으로서 이 네 가지 선거에 대한 선거권을 가진다.

대통령선거는 6년마다 한 번씩 열리며, 공민직접선거제·결선투표제로 핀란드 공화국대통령을 선출한다.

의회선거는 4년마다 한 번 열리며, 입법부인 의회(에두스쿤타)의 의원을 선출한다. 돈트 방식을 사용하는 완전 비례대표제다. 핀란드는 다당제 국가로, 단일 정당이 의회에서 절대 다수를 차지하기 어렵기 때문에 대부분의 핀란드 내각은 연정으로써 구성된다.

유럽의회선거는 5년마다 한 번 열린다. 핀란드는 유럽의회에 13개 의석을 가지고 있다.

지방선거는 4년마다 한 번 열린다.

자치령인 올란드 제도에서는 올란드 지역의회를 두고 의회선거와 지방선거가 따로 열린다.

선거제도

산출법 

의회선거, 지방선거, 유럽의회선거는 완전 비례대표제이며, 돈트 방식으로 득표를 산출한다. 돈트 방식은 사람과 정당에게 모두 표를 던지는 방식으로, 구체적인 산출 방식은 다음과 같다.
 우선 정당의 득표를 센다.
 각 정당 내부적으로 득표가 많은 순서대로 후보자를 추린다.
 득표 1위 후보자는 정당 득표 전체를, 2위는 절반을, 3위는 3분의 1을, 4위는 4분의 1을, …… , 식으로 표가 주어진다.
 이렇게 표가 주어졌으면 모든 정당의 후보자들을 단계 3에서 획득한 득표수 순으로 정렬한다. 그 순서대로 선거구에 할당된 의원 수만큼 당선된다.

투표용지의 크기는 148 × 210 밀리미터다. 한 번에 복수의 선거에 투표할 경우, 서로 다른 색상의 투표용지를 주어서 구분한다. 2006년부터 핀란드 선거법은 전자투표를 허용하고 있으며, 2008년 지방선거에서 몇몇 선거구에서 처음 전자투표가 실시되었다.

피선거권은 미성년자와 피후견자를 제외한 모든 선거권자에게 주어진다. 단 지방선거 피선거권은 해당 지역구에 거주하는 주민에게만 주어지며, 대통령 선거는 핀란드 토착 시민만 출마 가능하다.

사전투표 

각 유권자는 사전투표를 할 것인지 당일투효를 할 것인지 결정할 수 있다.

사전투표를 하기로 한 사람은 국내 또는 국외에 설치된 모든 투표소에서 투표할 수 있다. 또한 몇몇 국내시설(병원, 24시간 사회복지시설, 교정기관 등)에서는 국내 소재 유권자나 국외 소재 핀란드인이 특정 상황 하에서 사전투표를 할 수 있다. 각 지방정부에서 임명한 선거위원회()가 선거를 조직하며, 이 위원회가 사전투표도 관리한다. 위원회는 위원장, 부위원장 외 최소 3인으로 구성된다.

사전투표율은 남부 대도시보다 북부 및 동부 황야지대, 즉 핀란드 중앙당 우세지역에서 더 높다. 때문에 개표 시작 시점에는 중앙당이 사전투표 득표에서 앞서가는 경향이 있다.

당일투표 
당일투표는 전국에서 동시에 진행된다. 각 지방정부는 투표소를 마련해야 하며, 선거위원회가 투표소를 관리한다. 상술한 것과 같이 선거위원회는 위원장과 부위원장을 포함한 최소 3인 이상으로 구성되어야 한다.

투표가 끝나면 선거위원회는 표를 후보별로 정리하여 예비결과를 계산한다. 계산된 표는 지방선거의 경우 지방중앙선거위원회(), 다른 선거의 경우 선거구위원회()로 전달된다.

선거 이전, 그리고 선거 결과분석 완료 이후에 각각 통계가 발표된다.

각 선거의 상세

의회선거 

핀란드 의회의 의원을 선출하는 의회선거()는 공민 직접보통비밀선거로 투표되어 비례제로 선출된다. 커다란 선거구에서 10명-20명의 의원을 완전 비례로 뽑는 초대선거구제이며, 현재 전국에 13개 선거구가 있다. 의회 정수는 200석인데, 선거가 열리기 전에 각 선거구의 인구를 고려하여 중앙정부가 의석을 배분한다. 단 아베난마 선거구에서는 의회의원이 한 명밖에 선출되지 않기에 여기만 소선거구제라고 할 수 있다.

지역선거 
핀란드 국토는 18개 지역()이라는 광역지방자치체들로 나뉜다. 이 광역지자체들의 재정, 행정을 담당하는 기구인 지방참사회()를 선출하는 선거가 지역선거()다. 지역선거는 아직 완전히 정착되지 않았으며, 지역사회개혁 기획에 따라 입법이 준비 중이다. 2004년과 2008년에 카이누 지역에서 시범적으로 지역선거가 실시되었다.

투표율 
2010년대 들어 핀란드의 의회선거 투표율은 70%였고, 지방선거는 60%였다.

투표율 하락에 대응하기 위해 YLE는 1996년 유럽의회 선거 때부터 발리코네(Vaalikone)라는 프로그램을 활용하기 시작했다. 발리코네는 일종의 투표조언 어플리케이션으로, 유권자가 자신의 의견, 성향과 후보자의 그것을 비교할 수 있게 해주는 프로그램이다. 2003년에 이미 유권자의 4분의 1이 이 프로그램을 사용했다.

참조 사항 
 핀란드의 선거권사

참고 자료 

 https://web.archive.org/web/20180403050333/http://vaalit.fi/ - Oikeusministeriö
 Vaalien tulokset vuodesta 2003 lähtien
 Vaalilaki Finlex. 2. lokakuuta 1998. Viitattu 6.12.2015.
 Kuntalaki Finlex. 10. huhtikuuta 2015. Viitattu 6.12.2015.

외부 링크 

 TV-ajan eduskuntavaaleja YLEn Elävä arkisto
 Perustuslaki www.finlex.fi
 Rikoslaki (14. luku vaalirikoksista) www.finlex.fi
 Esitys: Suomeen yksi vaalialue YLE 22.4.2008
 Finna-palvelussa olevia kuvia