Seven Ähtäri councillors demand suspension of officials charged with misconduct

Seven members of Ähtäri’s city council are calling for an emergency meeting to suspend five officials charged with abuse of office, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.

The demand, submitted Monday, follows charges filed against eight current and former officials over alleged misuse of authority in loan decisions for a local wildlife park between 2018 and 2020. Five of those charged—four councillors and one audit board member—remain in key positions. A former city manager also faces a serious abuse-of-office charge.

The seven councillors—six from the Finns Party and one from the Left Alliance—argue that allowing the accused to continue undermines public trust in municipal decision-making. “An informed councillor should know when to step aside,” said Finns Party member Jarkko Salo, citing the city’s budget deficit and ongoing restructuring review.

The group will withdraw their request if the accused voluntarily resign from decision-making roles during the legal process. Otherwise, they threaten to escalate the matter to administrative court. Council chair Juha Nortunen (Finns Party) noted the irony of a charged audit board member overseeing current decision-making: “If they’re not removed now, we’ll take this to court.”

A special council meeting could be held as early as April 20, ahead of the next scheduled session on April 27. Under municipal law, suspension would bar the officials from decision-making until investigations conclude.