In the spring of 2025, municipal and regional elections will be held together for the first time. Voters will elect members to municipal or city councils and regional councils of welfare regions. Regional councils of welfare regions decide on regional healthcare policies and exercise the highest decision-making power in these regions. Municipal and city councils, in turn, exercise the highest municipal power to resolve, for example, economic, tax and strategic issues. Together, municipal and regional councils are the most significant local authorities.
Who has the right to vote and when?
In these elections, you are generally entitled to vote in your own municipality of residence and in the welfare area to which your municipality of residence belongs. An EU citizen is entitled to vote under the same conditions as a Finnish citizen. The exact conditions of the right to vote are set out in the article 20 of the Local Government Act.
For example, if you are an EU national and have registered being a resident of your municipality 51 days before the elections, you generally have a right to vote.
The election day for the elections is 13 April, and advance voting is open from 2 to 8 April 2025.
Student living, tram and exercise areas — what are the elections about?
In Turku, about one in four eligible voters is a student. That is why it is particularly important to highlight themes that are important to students in the elections. The Student Union of the University of Turku, TYY, is promoting students’ issues together with other student unions in the city of Turku in the R40K alliance. Cooperation is being carried out, for example, in the development of public transport. TYY also has its own, more specific election themes that it will promote in the upcoming elections. These election themes have been compiled in a policy paper compiled by the TYY representative body, which can be viewed at https://www.tyy.fi/fi/tyy/materiaalipankki.
TYY’s most important goal in the elections is to inspire every student to exercise their right to vote. The Student Union does not support any party, but it will raise themes that are important to students in the elections. Important themes in the elections include, for example, the future of student housing, the development of public transport and sports facilities projects. The Student Union offers a number of constructive solutions for each theme.
Future of student living
The future of student housing concerns every student at the University of Turku in a special way through the Turku Student Village Foundation TYS. The foundation has already planned projects, the completion of which is important, especially due to the growing number of students. These projects are hindered not only by local but also by national challenges, such as the future of ARA funding in light of national politics. The agency that finances student construction has been in financial trouble for a long time, and the state should capitalize it, or its successor, Varkea, which will start in March, as soon as possible, in order to continue its operations.
The key question is the following: if the state is unable to finance student construction through the ARA system, how can the operations be continued? TYY sees that despite the national challenges, much can be done at the city level. It is important that bureaucratic obstacles are removed in the long term. In addition, the legislation enables cities and municipalities to directly support actors belonging to their municipal groups.
In a situation where the state is unable to sufficiently support the goals of student housing construction, the above-mentioned means must be taken into account. The goal is good, and it combines the interests of the city and students: TYS's new projects, such as Kylänkulma and Itäinen Ylioppilaskylä, would provide a home for hundreds of young people if implemented, which would also benefit the city; well-off students bring money to the service sector.
In the current situation, trust between the city and TYS is very important. We can be grateful that the cooperation has worked well in recent years. Thanks go to the experts at both TYS and the city. However, there is uncertainty about national developments and the future of ARA funding. However, advocacy towards Parliament belongs to the Federation of Finnish Student Unions, which has already done great work on many issues important to students.
Public transport system and tram
Public transport is an important development target in the next four council years. TYY supports the construction of a tram in Turku, and the Turku City Council is likely to make an investment decision on the tram in late 2025. Students in particular will use Föli, and if implemented, the tram would complement the public transport system.
The tram would, among other things, make it easier to move between student residential areas and campuses. However, its construction must not weaken the public transport system. The system must also be taken into account in new construction in the city, as new services must be easily accessible. According to media reports, the city is planning, for example, a new swimming pool in Itäharju. The location is excellent, especially if the tram is built. Its planned route would run through Itäharju.
Exercise areas and swimming hall
Adding more sports facilities, especially near the campus area, is a long-standing requirement of TYY. The topic is also related to other city projects in 2025. The fate of the Educarium is being investigated, and it is not certain what will happen to the Campussport hall in the building. There are not many city sports facilities in the city center, but it would be great to see them in the future.
However, when developing sports facilities, efficient transport connections to them must also be taken into account. Previously, consideration has been given to locating a new city swimming pool in Kaarina, where the journey by public transport takes about 40 minutes from the Student Village. The new proposed Itäharju is a better option for students. However, there is already a rush to implement the swimming pool, as the currently used Petrelius swimming pool requires renovations in the future.