Stand as a candidate in the Student Union Council election

Would you like to represent students in the Student Union Council? Go ahead and run in the election! You'll get new friends from different faculties and learn important working life skills that you can't pick up by just studying. The Council's activities are also relevant to each of us, whether we know it or not. Continue reading to find out more about running in the election.

How do I stand as a candidate?

Every student at the University of Turku would be a great member for the Student Union Council. The Council decides on many matters that affect students' everyday life. Representation should be diverse so that all students at our university are represented as well as possible. 41 members will be elected to the Council. The vote is proportional, and most candidates also represent an electoral coalition (vaaliliitto). If you are entitled to vote (you are a student at the University of Turku and a member of TYY), you are also entitled to run as a candidate.

If you don't want to run as a candidate but still want to participate in an election campaign, please contact the electoral coalition of your choice directly. You should also encourage your friends to run. That way you'll definitely have someone to vote for.

Read more at tyy.fi/en/election

Tips and instructions for candidates-to-be

Stand as a candidate in the Student Union Council election and improve our university community and student life.

Find an electoral coalition (vaaliliitto) that shares your opinions.

Contact existing Council groups and check out what groups are running in this election. You can find a list of known electoral coalitions (groups of candidates) at the bottom of this page. You can also establish your own electoral coalition with 2–82 people (yourself included). Read more about how you can establish an electoral coalition in the Election Announcement. If you need help with establishing an electoral coalition, come down to the TYY Office or send an email to tyy-jarjestoasiantuntija@utu.fi

You can also run in the election without joining an electoral coalition.

Read the Ethical Guidelines and follow through on agreements that you make with your electoral coalition

You can find the Ethical Guidelines for the TYY Student Union Council Election at tyy.fi/en/election under “Election Documents”. As a candidate, you agree to abide by the Ethical Guidelines.
If your coalition submits everyone's declarations of candidacy together, deliver your declaration to the coalition at the agreed time. You can be at your electoral coalition's stand, participate in their events and campaign together. No one needs to contribute more than they want to to the electoral coalition. Declarations of candidacy must be submitted according to the instructions laid out in the Election Announcement by 9 October 2023 at noon.

Run a personal election campaign if you wish.

If you want to, you can run your own election campaign in addition to the campaign organised by your coalition. You can advertise yourself on social media and arrange appropriate publicity stunts, events, and activities. When campaigning, please remember TYY's principles for a safer space and the Ethical Guidelines of the election. If you need help, you can contact the Chairperson of the Central Election Committee, Aliisa Wahlsten alalwa@utu.fi.

What is the Student Union Council?

The Student Union Council exercises the highest decision-making power in the Student Union. Its most important tasks include deciding on the contents of TYY's budget and guideline documents, as well as electing the Executive Board. As a Council member, you can influence the development of documents such as TYY's Environmental Plan and Equality Plan and many others. The members of the Council, which are colloquially referred to as "edators" (edaattori), are elected in the Student Union Council Election every two years.

The Council meets approximately once a month. Before meetings, the Council has traditionally participated in evening sessions (iltakoulu) where the topics can be elaborated on and discussed in advance before the meeting. In addition, Council groups and Council members can independently prepare matters in their own way in between meetings.

As a Council member, you may become part of smaller committees which prepare matters for the Council to decide on. To name a few examples, these may include the criteria for organisation grants, the selection of employees and volunteers, financial decisions, and TYY's Strategy. The Council mainly meets in Turku, but meetings are also held on the Rauma or Pori campus, usually about once a year.

In the Council, you get to establish connections with students from other faculties, learn new things, practice different methods of influencing, and better understand the activities of TYY and the university. Anyone can apply to the Student Union Council. You can be a first-year student who is interested in the Student Union's activities, a student organisation powerhouse with years of experience, or a politician with the desire to make an influence. The Council works best when it includes as many types of students as possible.

Known electoral coalitions (groups of candidates) in the Student Union Council election:

Don't hesitate to send a message to the Coordinator of an Electoral Coalition and run in the election!

Kokoomus
Election Coordinator: Maria Yli-Jama
email: meylja@utu.fi
tel: +358 44 734 5505

Ryhmä Fuusio (formerly Hybridiaani)
Election Coordinator: Veera Pajunen
email: vepaju@utu.fi
puh: +358 40 350 2090
TG: veepaj

Ryhmä Lex (in an electoral alliance with TSE-lista and TYY Terveeksi)
Election Coordinator: Venla Tuovinen
email: vevutu@utu.fi
tel: +358 44 318 0943

Soihdunkantajat
Election Coordinator: Helena Kukkola
email: hakukk@utu.fi
tel: +358 40 098 3902

TSE-lista (in an electoral alliance with Ryhmä Lex and TYY Terveeksi)
Election Coordinators: Robert Vehma and Pihla Koski
email: rmvehm@utu.fi, pihkos@utu.fi
tel: +358 45 355 9013, +358 50 303 1395

TYY Terveeksi (in an electoral alliance with TSE-lista and Ryhmä Lex)
Election Coordinator: Veikko Pulkki
email: vepulk@utu.fi
tel: +358 45 127 7946

Viher-TYY (formerly Vihreä lista)
Election Coordinator: Miro Ilvonen
email: mvilvo@utu.fi
tel: +358 40 412 9904

Vihreä vasemmisto
Election Coordinators: Jenni Jäntti and Laura Kallio
email: jejojan@utu.fi & laura.i.kallio@utu.fi
puh: +358 45 267 6601
TG: (a)jenni_jantti

During the term 2021–2023, the Student Union Council featured the following groups: TSE-lista, Vihreä vasemmisto, TYY terveeksi, Hybridiaani, Ryhmä Lex, Soihdunkantajat, Kokoomus, Vihreä lista & Ryhmä Flex.