Ähtäri parish elects new church council after no-confidence ousts previous board

The Evangelical Lutheran parish of Ähtäri in western Finland has elected an almost entirely new church council after the previous board was forced to resign due to a loss of confidence, reports Yle. Only three members from the prior council remain in the newly appointed body.

The extraordinary move follows a February meeting where the council’s handling of parish governance came under scrutiny. While details of the dispute have not been made public, parish council chair Elina Pusaa stated that further discussion was unnecessary.

“The new council has been elected—we are moving forward and preparing for the autumn parish elections,” Pusaa said.

The election took place in two rounds on Wednesday, with both votes passing 15–4. Elina Latvanen was chosen as the council’s new vice chair, replacing Arja Ollikainen from the previous board. Of the nine council members, only Latvanen, Pirkko Koiramäki, and Eira Vanhatupa retain their positions.

The newly elected council will serve until early 2027, when a post-election parish council appoints a successor following November’s parish elections.