Turnout: 47.50%
About this election
On 23 January 2022 Finland held its first-ever county elections (aluevaalit), choosing 1,379 councillors for the 21 newly created wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialueet) that took over responsibility for health, social and rescue services in 2023. The National Coalition Party finished first with 21.60%, narrowly ahead of the Social Democrats (19.30%) and the Centre Party (19.20%); the Centre nonetheless won the most council seats owing to its rural strength. Helsinki, which organises its own services, and the autonomous Åland Islands did not take part. Turnout was 47.5%.
County councillors are elected by open-list proportional representation (d'Hondt) within each wellbeing services county for a four-year term, on the same candidate-centred model as Finland's other elections. The reform that created the counties was the culmination of more than a decade of attempts to overhaul Finnish health and social-care administration.
Because the counties were brand new, the election doubled as a referendum on the structure of the reform itself, championed by Sanna Marin's government. Low turnout reflected unfamiliarity with the new tier of government and the mid-winter timing during a pandemic wave.
Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) and the Ministry of Justice election results service — stat.fi.