Espoo prepares for competitive mayoral election with six qualified candidates

The election for the new mayor of Espoo is expected to be highly competitive, according to the heads of various city council groups. The race for Finland’s second-largest city will take place tomorrow, Monday. Six candidates are in the running, with four emerging as front-runners among the local council members.

All council group leaders agree that every candidate is highly qualified, which adds excitement to the anticipated secret ballot. The process mirrors presidential elections: if a candidate receives over fifty percent of the votes, they are elected immediately; otherwise, a runoff will be held between the two leading candidates.

The six candidates who meet the eligibility criteria include Tuula Antola, director of the Omnia educational consortium; Erkki Eerola, mayor of Vihti; Mervi Heinaro, head of Espoo’s vitality department; Mervi Katainen, chair of the city’s board; Leila Lehtinen, CEO of the consulting firm Excellence Garden; and Kai Mykkänen, Minister of the Environment and Climate.

With 75 council members in total, the largest group, the National Coalition Party, holds 29 seats. Group leader Markku Markkula stated that they would vote individually rather than as a bloc, but a strong recommendation was made for a specific candidate, either Katainen or Mykkänen—based on their qualifications.

Espoo’s Green Party, the second largest with 14 members, will not make a collective decision, although there is an effort to find a consensus among its members, as conveyed by group leader Mikki Kauste. The Social Democrats, the third largest with ten members, are also voting individually, asserting that all candidates are qualified.

Other groups, including the Swedish People’s Party and the Left, will similarly vote independently, adding to the unpredictability of the election. The current mayor, Jukka Mäkelä, will retire at the end of the year after serving since 2011.