Have you voted yet?

[Rosamunda]

It is easy to vote, the advance polling stations are still open (Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st). In fact, over 550,000 people have already cast their vote:

http://192.49.229.35/K2008/e/aanaktiivi ... ntilas.htm

If you want to cast your vote before the polling day you will find your local advance polling station here:

http://192.49.229.35/K2008/e/aanpkat/kuntalista.htm

Most of them are open until 8pm tonight and tomorrow.

Otherwise you can vote this Sunday at your local polling station.


General instructions on how to vote are here:

http://www.vaalit.fi/teksti/17095.htm


If you have any questions about voting in the municipal elections that are not covered by the http://www.vaalit.fi website, then post them here (or PM me and I'll find the answer for you!)

Most of the major parties in the big cities have candidates representing the interests of foreigners, and many have information in English on their webpages. My Finnish skills are only very, very average, but I still intend to vote....

[otyikondo]

I prefer the old-fashioned and more celebratory feel of doing it on the day. Mind you, you do have to part with a euro or two for the Save the Donkey Sanctuary Foundation. I guess it depends on how far you have to go to your nearest polling station - ours is just down the road.

Besides, everyone's always bitching that nothing's ever open on a Sunday...

[Rosamunda]

- ours is just down the road.

Ours is through the hedge. In fact I could probably do a brisk trade selling ice-cream from the window if it's a nice day.

Yes, it's one way to meet the neighbours, even those you never knew you had. And there'll be plenty of dogs and babies and bikes etc.

But advance voting is also nice 'cause you can then use that sorry-I've-already-cast-my-vote smile when you walk through Iso Omena and get accosted by the balloon-bearing, coffee-cup-rendering candidates from the opposition...

[otyikondo]

- ours is just down the road.

Ours is through the hedge. In fact I could probably do a brisk trade selling ice-cream from the window if it's a nice day.

Yes, it's one way to meet the neighbours, even those you never knew you had. And there'll be plenty of dogs and babies and bikes etc.

But advance voting is also nice 'cause you can then use that sorry-I've-already-cast-my-vote smile when you walk through Iso Omena and get accosted by the balloon-bearing, coffee-cup-rendering candidates from the opposition...

Yes, there is that.

HOWEVER... what good does it do you in terms of the kilos of junk leaflets that come through the mailbox and the football-pitch-sized areas of unsuspecting trees hacked down for them? Is one supposed to ring these silly farquars up and say it's too late, babe, it's too late?

Personally I quite RELISH accosting the accosters and demanding what their views are on Sammalvuori (even though it's miles away). Or asking them where they live and then saying: "Nah, thanks but no thanks."

[Rosamunda]

...maybe a sticker on the letter box would do the trick: "Kiitos, I voted yesterday"

I did have a bash last week outside Stockmann in Tapiola.... one of the ex-PTA mums was there (the one with the triple barrelled name) and had Ben Z (no less) handing out her share in the rainforest. I (politely) asked "where the hell has our international school got to?" and she said, "would I like a coffee?" and mumbled something about the (Suurpelto) business park has been replaced by a covered area (aka mall) with birds singing all year round.

[sinikala]

There seem to be dozens of candidates for each party, hard to imagine that any one candidate is going to get more than a small percentage of the available votes.... which surely reduces these elections to a popularity contest?

There's a chap from our building standing, seems to be a decent bloke, always lets on, is quite vocal in our building company meetings. He'd probably be quite useful in that sort of role. Shame he's running for the SDP otherwise I would have voted for him.

The missus tends to look for someone similar to herself - i.e. a female candidate, and preferably someone with a decent higher education background. I can't say I've seen any candidate with whom I can identify. Then again, as I consider local politics to be a waste of time, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that few people with my sort of background feel it is worth while standing for election.

In the words of that great Mancunian philosopher Paul Calf .... bag 'o shyte.

[EP]

One time I voted in advance. When the official voting day came, my husband was disappointed when he had to walk to the school all by himself. It seems that walking to/from the polling place and stopping to chat with just about everybody and having coffee afterwards is some kind of ritual for him.

I am just going to vote for the person who came on top when I tried "vaalikone". There was quite a gap between her and the person who came second.

[Rosamunda]

Shyte maybe, but they control one helluva load of taxpayers' money. And in Espoo there have been some major no-brainer decisions made in recent years which are effectively wasting our hard-earned cash (like selling off shares in E-On to Fortum and then "investing" the money ) and also planning a massive new housing estate/business park/learning campus in the middle of nowhere (Suurpelto) which seems to be heading for financial disaster (and that was before the current crisis even started). And then there's the metro extension and the waste water plant and no doubt several other VERY VERY BIG long term projects which all involve huge amounts of money.

Many of the people actually working in the municipalities (not the elected ones) have never worked anywhere other than in local government. And (my guess) many of them have been in the same department in the same city for years and years. How healthy is that? It's a bit scary that people with no business experience, no project management or investment planning experience from the private sector are put in charge of such huge budgets and are seemingly accountable to no one.

[otyikondo]

One time I voted in advance. When the official voting day came, my husband was disappointed when he had to walk to the school all by himself. It seems that walking to/from the polling place and stopping to chat with just about everybody and having coffee afterwards is some kind of ritual for him.

I am just going to vote for the person who came on top when I tried "vaalikone". There was quite a gap between her and the person who came second.

I would do that, but my "winner" lives half a world away from me and I'm not sure they care a damn about my bit of town.

Funnily enough, one bloke I know who is standing and whom I MIGHT otherwise have voted for (if I'd known he was in it and if I hadn't done the vaalikone thing) managed to score MINUS 233 with me (only three people did worse), so I fear his chances of getting my paw-mark have been well and truly blown.

[TampereOwl]

Shyte maybe, but they control one helluva load of taxpayers' money. And in Espoo there have been some major no-brainer decisions made in recent years which are effectively wasting our hard-earned cash (like selling off shares in E-On to Fortum and then "investing" the money ) and also planning a massive new housing estate/business park/learning campus in the middle of nowhere (Suurpelto) which seems to be heading for financial disaster (and that was before the current crisis even started). And then there's the metro extension and the waste water plant and no doubt several other VERY VERY BIG long term projects which all involve huge amounts of money.

Many of the people actually working in the municipalities (not the elected ones) have never worked anywhere other than in local government. And (my guess) many of them have been in the same department in the same city for years and years. How healthy is that? It's a bit scary that people with no business experience, no project management or investment planning experience from the private sector are put in charge of such huge budgets and are seemingly accountable to no one.

Is Finnish corporate culture that different from the municipalities, and if so is it any better? They seem to waste an awful lot of money with their PFI schemes when you give them a chance, and that little experiment in particular is going to cost british taxpayers very dearly in the next few years.

Surely it's pretty simple for you Espoolaiset, though. New stadium for Honka, yes or no? That should get rid of a lot of timewasters.

[Pursuivant]

I'd say be it corporate or any theres some pretty harebrained schemes out there...

[Mook]

HOWEVER... what good does it do you in terms of the kilos of junk leaflets that come through the mailbox and the football-pitch-sized areas of unsuspecting trees hacked down for them? Is one supposed to ring these silly farquars up and say it's too late, babe, it's too late?

indeed the leaflets themselves are quite interesting too. The Missus' mother is standing somewhere-or-other and wanted to get some guff printed out. So you phone up the print shop and ask how much it'll be for 1000 colour copies of A4. "Is it for the election?" "Oh, that'll be 400 Euros then". Seems that most of the print houses are charging double...

[hackoff]

never voted , and not willing to do it

[EP]

never voted , and not willing to do it

So you are happy with everything?

[sinikala]

Shyte maybe, but they control one helluva load of taxpayers' money.

I don't dispute that. Which is why it makes it all the stranger that the local elections seem to be like some sort of lucky dip.

There are too many candidates and too little is known about them. How is one meant to make an objective choice when we know sweet FA about any of them?

In a more critical electoral system, the political parties would vet the candidates prior to the election and support a smaller number to stand for election. The local media might then be able to offer more information as to where the candidate stands on certain issues, so that we can make some kind of an informed choice come election day.

Instead the main information provided is that each party offers an array of headshots, with the profession and possibly (though not in all cases), the candidate's age or e-mail address.

The only way that helps me is that it eliminates a few candidates on the basis that I am not going to vote for anyone who puts "housewife" or "student" as their profession.