Study title

The study charted the background and motives of Finnish, Swedish and foreign language speaking election candidates in the 2021 Finnish municipal elections, as well as the candidates' networks and support for standing for the election. First, reasons behind the decision to stand for election in the municipal elections (e.g. the will to help others, to acquire useful skills for work, to implement the political values of their party) and what or who (e.g. friends, trade union, employer) had encouraged the candidates to stand for election were charted. The respondents' political opinions and ideology were examined with attitudinal statements regarding the direction of Finland's future, such as lower taxation or more environmentally friendly policies. The respondents were asked whose representative they thought they would be as local councillors (e.g. those who had voted for them or all residents of the municipality), and their satisfaction with democracy in Finland and their municipality was examined as well. The respondents' political campaign was examined with questions concerning, for example, which activities were part of their campaign (e.g. canvassing, direct mailing, personal advertisements), how much time and money they had spent on the campaign, how the funding had been spent (e.g. for campaign videos or radio/TV advertising), and whether they targeted any specific groups in their campaign. The help and support the respondents received from their family, friends or acquaintances in different aspects of their political campaign (e.g. coordinating schedule and budget, maintaining social media accounts, moral support) was surveyed. Opinions on the effects that the coronavirus pandemic and the postponing of the municipal elections had on the elections were charted. The respondents were also asked whether they had noticed or experienced electoral disruption (e.g. spreading misinformation, data breaches and different data leaks) during the municipal elections. The...