Social Democrats win county and municipal elections in Finland

The Social Democrats took a big win in Finland's municipal elections on Sunday, taking nearly one in four votes nationwide to push the National Coalition Party of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo into second place, Report informs via Yle.

In the county council elections, for 21 regional bodies that arrange social and healthcare outside Helsinki, the SDP also topped the poll. The Centre Party recorded a good result in its rural heartlands to secure third spot.

Government parties did poorly, with all but the NCP losing support compared to the previous municipal elections in 2021. Turnout in the municipal election was 54.2 percent, while the county elections saw 51.7 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots.

The dual vote for municipal and county councils caused logistical issues for election officials, with counting slower than usual for Finland, where large numbers vote in advance and results are usually clear within a couple of hours of polls closing.

Coming off the back of two fairly disappointing results in the Presidential and European elections, SDP leader Antti Lindtman said that he was pleased with the campaign. Yle's projections showed his party on course for first place in both the municipal and county council elections.

”The result is something that I wouldn't have dared to dream of,” said Lindtman. ”If the result sticks, a rise of 5.5 percent for the SDP is historic.”

The Finns Party saw support collapse compared to the last municipal election, with the party nearly halving its vote from four years ago. They lost support in several towns that are seeing hospital services cut back as part of the central government's savings drive.