Municipal elections are held to elect the councillors of the municipalities. At the beginning of 2017 there were altogether 295 municipalities in continental Finland and 16 in the Province of Åland.

Municipal elections are held every fourth year on the third Sunday of April. If the third Sunday in April is Easter Sunday, the Election Day is the Sunday preceding the Easter weekend. The next will be held on 9 April 2017.

The number of councillors elected depends on the population of a municipality. According to Section 16 of the Local Government Act (410/2015) the number of councillors varies as follows:

Population -> Councillors

• at most 5000 - > 13
• 5001 - 20 000 - > 27
• 20 001 - 50 000 - > 43
• 50 001 - 100 000 - > 51
• 100 001 - 250 000 - > 59
• 250 001 - 500 000 - > 67
• yli 500 000 - > 79

In Åland municipal elections are also held every fourth year, but not at the same time as in the rest of Finland; the next will be held in 2019.