Municipal Election Candidates Campaign on Shoestring Budgets

The majority of municipal election candidates report that they're limiting their campaign budgets to a few hundred euros, finds YLE's online candidate selection engine.

Most candidates vying for a seat in local office report that their campaign budgets won't exceed 500 euros. Municipal election candidates are mainly relying on their own funds to run for office. Local political party offices are the most common source of external financing.

Justice Minister Tuija Brax says campaigners are toning down their budgets and using less expensive avenues for reaching out to voters.

"It seems as if campaign financing is not very popular at the moment," says office-seeker Ville Väärälä.

Municipal election campaigners must report all private donations exceeding 1,000 euros. Candidates must also outline how campaign funds were used.

The country's most expensive campaigns are waged in the capital city region, Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Lahti. Candidates of the National Coalition report the largest campaign budgets.