What kind of support can be received in an election campaign‍

The Act on a Candidate's Election Funding sets limitations on the support that a candidate or the actors supporting the candidate may receive. The Act limits, for example, the actors from whom support may be accepted and the amount of support a candidate may accept from a single donor. The Act also forbids candidates from accepting support from certain actors.

‍The donor must be identifiable

A candidate, their support group or other entity operating exclusively for the purpose of promoting the candidate must not accept contributions from donors that cannot be identified. However, contributions raised through ordinary fundraising activities may be accepted. Ordinary fundraising activities refer, for example, to small-scale product sales or fundraising.

In order for contributions to be regarded as raised through ordinary fundraising activities, the value of an individual contribution should not be even close to the lower limit set for contributions to be disclosed separately. For example, if the fundraising includes significant private donations, these donations should be disclosed separately.

Private donations should be disclosed if the value of the contribution is at least

  • EUR 2,000 in parliamentary elections, county elections, European Parliament elections and presidential elections
  • EUR 1,100 in municipal elections
  • EUR 2,000 if the candidate is standing in both the county and the municipal elections at the same time.

Maximum financial support from the same donor

Only a certain amount of financial support may be received from the same donor. Support received from the same donor is considered to include both direct and indirect support received.

A candidate, the candidate's support group or other entity operating exclusively for the purpose of promoting the candidate may accept contributions from the same donor for a maximum of

  • EUR 3,000 in municipal elections.
  • EUR 6,000 in parliamentary elections and county elections
  • EUR 9,000 if the candidate is standing in both the county and the municipal elections at the same time (EUR 3,000 for municipal elections and EUR 6,000 for county elections)
  • EUR 10,000 in European Parliament elections.

There is no similar ceiling for contributions in presidential elections.

However, financial support from a political party or a party association may exceed this amount, provided that the support does not include contributions from other donors in excess of the above amount.

Receiving financial support from foreign donors

A candidate, the candidate's support group and other entity operating exclusively for the purpose of promoting the candidate may accept financial support from foreign donors only if the donor is a private individual or an international organisation or foundation that represents the candidate's ideology.

Support from the central government, wellbeing services counties, municipalities and other public-sector actors

A candidate, the candidate's support group or other entity operating exclusively for the purpose of promoting the candidate must not accept support from the central government, a wellbeing services county, a wellbeing consortium, a municipality, a joint municipal authority, an unincorporated state, municipal or county enterprise, an association, institution or foundation governed by public law or a company controlled by the state, a wellbeing services county or a municipality. However, this prohibition does not apply to ordinary hospitality, such as coffee.

Associations, institutions and foundations governed by public law have been established by law or decree for a specific purpose and have competence for the exercise of public authority or public tasks defined by law.

Associations, institutions and foundations governed by public law include, for example:

  • the Bank of Finland and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland
  • the Finnish Wildlife Agency
  • chambers of commerce and the Finland Chamber of Commerce
  • the Finnish Road Safety Council, the Finnish Motor Insurers' Centre (LVK)
  • Veikkaus Oy
  • Ålands Penningautomatförening (PAF)
  • the Finnish Bar Association
  • the Evangelical-Lutheran and Orthodox Church and parishes
  • reindeer herding cooperatives
  • Local Government and County Employers KT
  • the Finnish Red Cross
  • the National Defence Training Association of Finland (MPK)
  • students’ unions