Sun is shining and the birds are singing. Summer is here. The beginning summer brings us election campaigns, roadside ads, and election advertising by mail. One of the most important elections in Finland, if not the most important, are held in June. To be more specific, the municipal elections are held on June 13th. 

Why are municipal elections a significant event to us students? Municipal elections out of all the elections held in Finland are the ones that affect the most to individual people’s lives. Municipal councils affect many things that are visible in our everyday life. Particularly interesting matters for us students are for example public transport and reasonably priced housing. It is also good to remember that most of the Universities of Applied Sciences are owned by municipalities. That means municipalities can also affect the operations of Universities of Applied Sciences through corporate governance. In summary, municipal elections are a great opportunity to affect your everyday life. 

In the last municipal elections the voting percentage was 58,9%. Unfortunately, the youth voting percentage was regrettably low with only 35,0% of the 18-24-years-olds using their right to vote. I would like to use this blog to encourage everyone reading to take part in the municipal elections this year by voting. 

When youth are asked why they didn’t vote in the last elections, one answer rises above everything else. Finding a suitable candidate or party to vote for feels immensely challenging. This is absolutely true. Sometimes even experts have a hard time to keep up with what is happening in politics. Luckily nowadays there are many great tools to navigate your way through the political field. Especially the voting advice applications are a great way to compare different candidates and parties to find the candidates that have the most similar set of values to your own. After just a few surveys you should have a clearer vision to which candidates are closest to you. 

In our perspective it would be important to elect candidates who are interested in the same matters and values as the youth. This is how we make sure that the youth’s opinion is heard when municipal councils are making decisions that affect our future. In the end the youth is who are going to live with today’s decisions in the future.  

Now I would like to challenge everyone to vote in the municipal election. Let’s show everyone that the youth is interested in politics and want to be a part of creating a better future for us all.

Jere Liitiäinen
The chairperson of Students of Business and Technology