The Justice Ministry's Permanent Secretary Pekka Timonen has confirmed to news agency STT that officials within the ministry proposed postponing the municipal elections due to health and safety concerns over the potential spread of coronavirus.
The elections are due to take place on 18 April.
"We have two different issues," Timonen said. "Firstly, traditional electoral security: the fact that elections must be held in a safe and reliable manner and that democracy takes place in such conditions. The second is health security, which is a special feature of these elections. The combination of these was the basis of the proposal."
Timonen said he did not want to comment further when asked which was the bigger concern.
Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson (SPP) and the party secretaries unanimously rejected the proposal at a joint meeting on Thursday evening and the election will continue as normal, Timonen added.
Postponement of elections previously mooted
The proposal by the Justice Ministry officials is not the first time the postponement of this year's municipal elections has been suggested.
Heikki Paloheimo, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Tampere, has previously proposed moving the elections to the autumn in opinion pieces written in the Turku-based Turun Sanomat as well as in Finland’s widest circulating daily Helsingin Sanomat (both links in Finnish).
In an interview with Yle last week, Paloheimo said that it will be very difficult to follow coronavirus safety guidelines at polling stations, and this may result in some people choosing not to vote.
In December, Justice Minister Henriksson said that the municipal elections will be held according to the planned schedule as democracy involves delivering elections on time, even in difficult circumstances.
Last week, however, the minister told Yle that if coronavirus restrictions move to the highest level, which is level three, elections cannot be held.
