Finland - June 2025

On 19 June, Parliament approved amendments to the 1995 Sámi Parliament Act, with 150 votes in favour and 27 against. The changes ensure voting rights and candidacy in Sámi Parliament elections are based on criteria set by the Sámi Parliament. The amendments aim to address the 2019 findings by the UN Human Rights Committee that Finland violated the rights of representatives to the Sámi Parliament by not allowing the Sámi Parliament to define eligibility for itself. An independent board will be established to consider appeals over the register, instead of the Board of the Sámi Parliament. The changes also introduce multiple polling stations per municipality and a mobile voting station to improve access to the ballot. The amendments, proposed by the Ministry of Justice following negotiations with the Sámi Parliament, were welcomed by Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, the Sámi Parliament’s President, as confirming the Sámi people’s right to self-determination. Näkkäläjärvi recognized the Sámi community’s mobilization efforts and activism.

Sources: Sámi Parliament, ConstitutionNet, Yle, Helsinki Times, Ministry of Justice, OHCHR