Turnout: 58.90%
About this election
Finland's municipal elections of 9 April 2017 chose councillors for the country's 295 municipal councils, which run schools, local planning and (at the time) much of social and health care. The National Coalition Party finished first nationally with about 20.68% of the vote, narrowly ahead of the Social Democrats (19.38%) and the Centre Party (17.53%). The Greens made notable gains in the cities. Because Finland's rural municipalities are numerous and small, the Centre Party won by far the most individual council seats (over 2,800) despite trailing in the national vote share. Turnout was 58.9%.
Municipal councillors are elected every four years by open-list proportional representation (d'Hondt) within each municipality; voters choose an individual candidate. Council size scales with the municipality's population. Non-citizens resident in Finland may vote in municipal (but not parliamentary) elections.
The 2017 elections were held while Juha Sipilä's centre-right national government was attempting a major health-and-social-services and regional reform, lending the local vote unusual national significance. The National Coalition Party's urban strength and the Centre Party's rural dominance were the defining structural features.
Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) and the Ministry of Justice election results service — stat.fi.