15 000 stand up for diversity

After a shocking statement of one of the Finns Party's MPs thousands of people all around Finland gathered for a multicultural Finland. 

photo by Jérémy Huyghe

In Helsinki over 15 000 people came together at Kansalaistori under the slogan "Meillä on unelma!" (we have a dream) to stand up for diversity. They were supported by dozens of political, religious, labor, sports and cultural leaders.

Find more information on yesterday's event at Yle News as well as pictures and videos from Helsingin Sanomat.

Thanks to all who joined and made this possible!

Live tv on the street

Would you like to follow how live tv is made? At the moment you can. At Lasipalatsi MTV3 has put up their news truck that broadcasts live from the city center.

Here the journalists talk to politicians and report about the election campaign. Have a look if you like. And follow up on what is happening shortly before the elections on Sunday.

Election time

The parliamental elections are just a few days ahead. On April 19 Finland will elect a new eduskunta. If you don't have a Finnish citicenship you are not entiteled to vote this time though.

You can still follow up on what the parties stand for. And thanks to Yle you can even listen to what Finnish party leaders have to say and stand for. Yle News has interviewed the heads of all big Finnish parties.

You can find all the videos on the Yle News page. Have a look.

Follow the Prime Minister

Did you know that the Finnish Prime Minister is a Twitter enthusiast? Alexander Stubb is very active in social media in general. That way he is probably one of the most approachable top politician worldwide. He tweets mainly in English but also in Finnish, Swedish and French from time to time.

If you want to stay up to date on what Alexander Stubb is doing or want to get in touch with him directly then follow or tweet him with @alexstubb.

Who to vote for

In just a bit over two weeks the election for the European Parliament take place. If you are over 18 and citizen of the European Union you are entitled to vote. But who to vote for? Especially if it is your first election in Finland and you are not familiar at all with the Finnish party landscape.

The EUvox 2014 website can help you. No matter what EU country you vote in the system gives you the opportunity to find your best match among the local parties by asking you several questions that you can give your opinion on. And don't worry if you don't speak any English. EUvox always supports English in addition to the local language.

With your result EUvox gives you detailed information on the parties, their opinions and on what matters you agree or disagree with them.

Check it out. And don't forget to vote on May 25!

The results

After yesterday’s communal elections the votes have been counted during the evening.

Find the results for Helsinki and for the whole country from the website of Helsingin Sanomat. Here you can not only see, how many seats each party got but also  find out if your candidate made it.

Make your vote count

One week from now the communal elections will be held in Finland. Those elections will decide who is going to sit in the town parliament and will decide about the development in your neighborhood. So the outcome of those elections will affect you directly. It will be about matter like where the new playground will be put, if the street you live on will get new traffic lights and so on.

But who is allowed to vote? In case you are a citizen of the European Union, Iceland or Norway, are 18 years or older and where registered in Finland latest at the 51^st day before the election you have the right to vote. You should in that case have received an election notice by mail. There you can see where you have to go next Sunday to give your vote. The polling stations are open on 28 October from 9.00 till 20.00.

Everyone has just one vote in this election that has to be given to one specific candidate. This way you help to get your candidate into the parliament but also support his or her party at the same time. All parties are advertising in all over the city at the moment. So if you don't know who to vote for, approach them and ask who represents them in your neighborhood and what his or her plans are.

More information on the Kunnallisvaalit can be found from the official elections website of the Ministry of Justice.