Become a candidate

Have you ever thought that it would be great if the daycare centre was closer, the hospital emergency services were open for longer, young people would have more leisure-time opportunities or jogging paths would be illuminated later in the evening? All these matters are decided by municipal and county councils. Becoming a candidate is the best way to ensure that the changes you want to see happen are actually realised. Serving as an elected representative is interesting, rewarding and educational work.

As a candidate for the SDP, you have the opportunity to influence everyone’s ability to live a good life and receive help and support whenever necessary, regardless of where they live or how much money they have. The values of the SDP, such as equality, justice and solidarity, provide a good basis for driving positive changes locally. In the election campaign, you will be supported by your own local association, its active members and other candidates. As a candidate for the SDP, you will also receive support and training for both leading a winning campaign and serving as a councillor.

In many municipalities, it is possible for you to become a non-party candidate on the SDP candidate list. However, accepting the post of an elected representative after the elections usually requires party membership. New members get one year of membership for free.

Absolutely. As a candidate for the SDP, you will receive support for both leading a campaign and serving as a councillor, meaning that you will receive all the information you need along the way. The councils also need first-timers to introduce fresh ideas and viewpoints. That is why we would like to bid new faces a particularly warm welcome.

No. We are not looking for special experts as municipal and county decision-makers. Instead, we want regular people who are ready to assume responsibility and make decisions on services in their own municipality or wellbeing services county. Decision-making requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences – that is why we want you to run.

Yes. You can choose whether to run in the municipal elections, the county elections or both. The exception to this is Helsinki, where you can only stand as a candidate in municipal elections. Helsinki is not part of any wellbeing services county, and there will be no county elections in Helsinki.

Municipal and city councillors make decisions on municipal economy and all key services. As a municipal decision-maker, you will be making decisions on the location of schools and daycare centres and their group sizes, municipal employment services, playgrounds and beaches, lighting of jogging paths and ski trails, sports venues, leisure opportunities and cultural services.

County councillors decide on the social, health and rescue services in the wellbeing services county. As a county councillor, you will be making decisions on the wellbeing services county budget, health station services and customer fees, child welfare, elder care and rescue department locations – and much more.

Yes. Election campaigns are conducted with a wide range of budgets and from very different starting points. Even a small budget goes a long way if you plan well. Marketing on social media, for example, is very affordable and you can gain some free exposure by publishing opinion pieces and there is no cost to meeting people face to face. Fundraising is also helpful in increasing your budget. As a candidate for the the SDP, the party will support and guide you in asking for donations.

You can conduct an election campaign in your free time along with work according to your own schedule and resources. It is a good idea to gather a support team consisting of friends, family and acquaintances to help you in campaigning and make it much more fun. Campaigning is also a joint effort in municipalities and wellbeing services counties, meaning that you do not have to plan everything alone.

Municipal and county councillors serve in positions of trust alongside their day jobs. Elected representatives have the right to be remunerated for their work and reimbursed for any costs arising from performing their tasks. The size of these remunerations varies by municipality.

Some daycare centres offer care in the evenings, as well. In addition to this, many municipalities reimburse the costs of child care during evening meetings to elected representatives. You can ask for more information about the policy in your municipality or wellbeing services county from your local party branch or municipal organisation (municipal elections) or district association (county elections).

Each party decides on the persons who they want as candidates in the elections. Each candidate must sign a Finnish- or Swedish-language candidate commitment, in which the person e.g. verifies their candidacy and affirms that they are only representing one party or constituency association in the election. In the commitment drafted by the SDP, the candidate also commits to adhering by the party regulations and defending human rights and the principles of democracy.

The nomination of candidates by parties and constituency associations will be confirmed by the central municipal electoral committee or county election board of the wellbeing services county on 13 March 2025.

The municipal organisation in your municipality will help you with any questions concerning practical matters related to municipal elections. If you have questions concerning the practical implementation of county elections in your wellbeing services county, please contact the executive director of your district organisation.

Click here for the contact information for district organisations

If you have questions concerning candidate nomination in municipal and county elections in general, please contact the SDP secretary for municipal, county and organisation matters, Kimi Uosukainen, kimi.uosukainen@sdp.fi.