in English

Municipal council decisions affect day-to-day realities in people’s lives. Councillors oversee finances, services, and strategic direction, while also having a significant impact on other decision-making bodies within the municipality. This campaign aims to ensure that the quality of life in Finland is not attained at the expense of other people's rights or lives.

Who can vote and what can we achieve?

Finnish and EU citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote in the municipality where they are registered as a resident 51 days before election day (April 13th). Citizens of non-EU countries are eligible to vote if they have been registered as resident in Finland for a continuous period of at least two years. The people we help elect make decisions on issues like daycare group sizes, education, street maintenance, the availability of affordable housing and support for cultural services.

Sumud – The Finnish Palestine network has prepared an election pledge for all candidates to sign:

I will advocate for my municipality to refrain from making investments or directing procurement to companies complicit in human rights violations. This includes, among others, companies operating in Israel’s illegal settlements.

Municipal procurement must be directed to companies whose operations are not in conflict with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 

In the autumn of 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ban on imports from Israeli illegal settlements and an end to business activities which support Israel’s illegal occupation. Finland voted in favor of it. As an example, in February 2025 Sydney Australia, passed a decision that the city will not engage with companies profiting from illegal settlements. 

Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights in violation of international law for over 50 years and continues to rapidly expand settlements in these areas. Companies operating in the settlements contribute to their upkeep and enable their expansion. Such business activities in the settlements have been widely condemned. 

Let’s ensure that municipal investments do not violate human rights!

Some investments are huge! For example, Kaupunkiliikenne Oy, owned by Helsinki and Vantaa, ordered five metro trains from the Spanish company CAF. The investment is problematic because CAF is active in the Jerusalem Light Rail project, which is condemned by the UN Human Rights Council as it connects illegal settlements to Israel. 

But small things matter, too – council members can take the initiative by proposing to exclude businesses listed on BDS Finland’s boycott list as municipality school and office supply suppliers.

Invite your candidate to take action!