How Finland is governed: the Constitution, Parliament, President and elections

Quick answers

How many members does the Finnish Parliament have?

200. They are elected in parliamentary elections for four years at a time.

How long is the President's term?

Six years. The same person can be President for at most two terms in a row.

Who holds power in Finland?

Power belongs to the people. Parliament makes the laws, the President and the Government hold governmental power, and independent courts hold judicial power.

What is a citizens' initiative?

A proposal for a new law. If 50,000 Finnish citizens with the right to vote support it within six months, it goes to Parliament.

Chapter 4 explains how Finland is run. It covers the Constitution, Parliament, the President of the Republic and the Government. The chapter also covers elections, voting rights and ways to have a say between elections. The facts come from public sources, such as the Constitution of Finland, the Election Act and InfoFinland.

What is the Constitution of Finland?

The Constitution (perustuslaki) is Finland’s most important law. It says how the state is run and what rights every person has. The current Constitution came into force on 1 March 2000.

The first section of the Constitution says that Finland is a sovereign republic (tasavalta). According to the second section, the power of the state belongs to the people. The people are represented by Parliament (eduskunta). This is called democracy (kansanvalta).

The Constitution is harder to change than an ordinary law. First, a change is left pending until after the next parliamentary elections. Then the new Parliament approves it if at least two thirds of the votes cast support it. Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee (perustuslakivaliokunta) checks whether new bills fit the Constitution.

How is power divided in Finland?

Section 3 of the Constitution divides the power of the state into three parts. This is called the separation of powers (vallanjako).

• Legislative power (lainsäädäntövalta): Parliament makes the laws and decides on state finances.
• Governmental power (hallitusvalta): the President of the Republic and the Government (valtioneuvosto). The members of the Government must have the confidence of Parliament.
• Judicial power (tuomiovalta): independent courts. The highest courts are the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus) and the Supreme Administrative Court (korkein hallinto-oikeus).

When power is divided, no one decides everything alone.

What does Parliament do?

Parliament has 200 Members of Parliament (kansanedustaja). They are elected for four years at a time. Parliament has only one chamber. The work of Parliament is done in Finnish or Swedish.

These are the main tasks of Parliament:

• it makes the laws
• it decides on state finances, for example the state budget
• it supervises the Government. If Parliament no longer has confidence in the Government or a minister, the President must grant them dismissal.

A new law usually starts as a government proposal (hallituksen esitys). A Member of Parliament can also make a legislative motion. The proposal is first handled in a committee (valiokunta) and then twice in a plenary session (täysistunto). Finally, the President confirms the law. If the President does not confirm the law within three months, it goes back to Parliament. If Parliament approves it again unchanged, the law enters into force without confirmation.

What does the President of the Republic do?

The people elect the President (tasavallan presidentti) in a direct election for six years. The same person can be President for at most two terms in a row. The President must be a Finnish citizen by birth.

These are some of the President’s tasks:

• leads foreign policy together with the Government
• is the Supreme Commander (ylipäällikkö) of the Defence Forces
• confirms laws
• appoints the Prime Minister and the other ministers
• appoints permanent judges
• can grant a pardon (armahdus), which means removing a punishment in an individual case.

The President makes most decisions in the Government. In that case the Government first proposes what to decide. The current President is Alexander Stubb. He took office on 1 March 2024, and he is the 13th President of Finland.

What is the Government?

The Government (valtioneuvosto) is Finland’s government. It is made up of the Prime Minister (pääministeri) and the other ministers. Before the Prime Minister is elected, the parliamentary groups negotiate a government programme (hallitusohjelma). Then Parliament elects the Prime Minister, and the President appoints them. The President appoints the other ministers on the Prime Minister’s proposal.

The Government gives government proposals to Parliament and runs the state administration. The Government has ministries (ministeriö), and each ministry is led by a minister. The Prime Minister leads the work of the Government and represents Finland in the European Council.

What elections are held in Finland?

Election	How often	Who is elected
Parliamentary elections (eduskuntavaalit)	every 4 years	200 Members of Parliament
Presidential election (presidentinvaali)	every 6 years	the President of the Republic
Municipal elections (kuntavaalit)	every 4 years	the municipal council
County elections (aluevaalit)	every 4 years, on the same day as municipal elections	the county council of the wellbeing services county
European Parliament elections (europarlamenttivaalit)	every 5 years	Finland’s 15 members of the European Parliament

There are 21 wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialue). County elections are not held in Helsinki or Åland, because they organise their services themselves. The latest municipal and county elections were held on 13 April 2025.

Who can vote in Finland?

In all elections, a voter must be 18 at the latest on election day. The other conditions depend on the election.

• Parliamentary and presidential elections: only Finnish citizens. Finnish citizens who live abroad can also vote.
• European Parliament elections: Finnish citizens and citizens of other EU countries who live in Finland. An EU citizen must register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency at the latest on the 80th day before election day.
• Municipal and county elections: citizens of Finland, another EU country, Iceland and Norway whose municipality of residence (kotikunta) is in Finland. Citizens of other countries can vote if they have had a municipality of residence in Finland for two years. The municipality of residence is checked on the 51st day before election day.

In parliamentary elections the country is divided into electoral districts (vaalipiiri). You can only vote for a candidate in your own electoral district.

How do you vote?

About a month before the election you get a voting notice (äänioikeusilmoitus). It tells you where your polling station is on election day.

You can vote in advance. Advance voting (ennakkoäänestys) starts on the 11th day before election day and ends in Finland on the 5th day before election day. In advance voting you can vote at any general advance polling station in Finland or abroad. On election day you can only vote at your own polling station, from 9 am to 8 pm.

Bring an identity document. In the voting booth you write the candidate’s number on the ballot paper. Voting is secret, so no one sees who you vote for.

How can I have a say between elections?

Democracy is not only election day. You can also have a say between elections.

• Citizens’ initiative (kansalaisaloite): at least 50,000 Finnish citizens with the right to vote can make an initiative to Parliament to pass a law. The support must be collected within six months.
• Initiative to the municipality: a resident of a municipality can make an initiative on municipal matters. The municipality must tell the person who made it what has been done because of it.
• Referendum (kansanäänestys): a municipal referendum is advisory. At least 4 per cent of the residents of the municipality aged 15 or over can make an initiative for one.
• Associations (yhdistys): everyone has freedom of association. You can set up an association without a permit and join an association.
• Demonstration (mielenosoitus): you do not need a permit for a demonstration. If it is held outdoors in a public place, the police must be notified at least 24 hours in advance.
• Freedom of expression and the media: everyone has freedom of expression (sananvapaus). Finland has freedom of the press, which means the media can publish information and opinions without state censorship.

What to remember from this chapter

• Finland is a republic, and power belongs to the people. The Constitution came into force on 1 March 2000.
• Separation of powers: Parliament makes the laws, the President and the Government hold governmental power, and the courts hold judicial power.
• Parliament has 200 Members of Parliament, elected for four years.
• The President’s term is six years, at most two terms in a row. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces.
• Only Finnish citizens vote in parliamentary and presidential elections. A foreign citizen can also vote in municipal and county elections.
• A citizens’ initiative needs 50,000 supporters within six months.

Practise chapter 4

Test yourself with the questions for chapter 4. Some questions are open, the rest are part of the course. The questions are practice questions we have written ourselves, not Migri’s test questions. They are in Finnish, like the test. Read the explanation after each answer, so you remember better.

Difficult words in this chapter

perustuslaki (constitution)

Finland's most important law; it says how the state is run and what basic rights people have

vallanjako (separation of powers)

power is divided into three parts: legislative power, governmental power and judicial power

eduskunta (Parliament)

Finland's parliament with 200 members; it makes the laws

valtioneuvosto (Government)

Finland's government; it is made up of the Prime Minister and the other ministers

ylipäällikkö (Supreme Commander)

the highest leader of the Defence Forces; in Finland this is the President

ennakkoäänestys (advance voting)

voting before election day

vaalipiiri (electoral district)

the area whose candidates you can vote for in parliamentary elections

kansalaisaloite (citizens' initiative)

a proposal for a new law made by citizens; it needs 50,000 supporters