For Candidates

The next Representative Council elections of ISYY will be held in autumn 2025. The elections are not possible without good candidates. If you think that you could actively contribute to the Student Union and its future, why not present yourself as a candidate! Read on to find out how to do it.

Why Should You Present Yourself as a Candidate?

As a member of the Representative Council, Edaattori in Finnish, you will be able to have your say about how things are run at ISYY and UEF.  For instance, you will help determine the strategy of ISYY, cooperate with the decision-making bodies of UEF and help build a better future for students in this country.

As a member of the Representative Council, you will gain valuable experience working in a position of trust, meet new people and build valuable networks inside and outside of the student movement.

How Does it Work in Practice?

Running for the Representative Council happens via candidate lists.  Every candidate list has one person in charge, who is called a representative. When someone is interested in joining the list, the representative takes care of practical matters. If you would like to run for a certain candidate list, please contact the representative for the list in question.

There are different types of lists, many of them politically affiliated or connected to a specific field of study. However, you do not need to be politically inclined or affiliated with a specific movement, as some lists are nonaligned. If you are unable to find a suitable list for your personal interests, you may also establish your own candidate list. A candidate can announce that they are a nonaligned candidate as they nominate themselves. There is no exact definition of what it means to be a nonaligned candidate in the Representative Council Elections. The candidate and the candidate list can freely define the nature of being nonaligned. This can mean, for example, that the candidate does not commit to the policy of the candidate list or its collaborators.

ISYY utilises the proportional representation electoral system, which means that seats get distributed to each list in proportion to the number of votes the list receives.  Every member of the Student Union (ISYY) who has registered as present at the University by a certain date is an eligible candidate at the elections, and each candidate is allowed to represent one list only.

The Central Election Committee of ISYY has published regulations for campaigning and candidate marketing. You can find it from the "Campaigning" section.

How to nominate yourself as a candidate in 2023:

1. Fill in the “candidate’s approval and assurance” document either in electronic or paper form and deliver it to ISYY
2. You’ll receive a confirmation to your email after the Coordinator of Representative Council elections has processed your form. The confirmation is also sent to the representative of the candidate list since they have to approve your candidacy to their list. You do not need to reply to the confirmation. You’ll receive a notification also after the representative has approved your candidacy.
3. The paper form needs to be signed and delivered to ISYY’s office and ISYY sends it to be accepted by the representative of your chosen list.
4. All candidates should also fill in the electronic form via which the candidate can deliver information they want ISYY to add to the Candidate Gallery in Tuudo by 8.10. by 23:59 (NB! Due date updated from 5 October to 8 October). The Candidate Gallery in Tuudo is available for viewing from 11.10.2023 onwards.

Establishing a list of candidates

You can establish your own list of candidates if you are eligible as a candidate yourself. The founder of the list becomes a representative and may run as a candidate on their list. So the founder of a candidate list is the same person as the representative of the list. The representative works as a contact person between the candidates of the list and the Student Union. Two or more lists of candidates can form an electoral alliance. More detailed instructions on how to establish a candidate list are given in the Election Announcement.

How to establish a candidate list in 2023:

1. Fill in the “announcement of the representative of the list” document either in electronic or paper form and deliver it to ISYY. ISYY adds the information of the candidate lists and their representatives to ISYY’s website during office hours. We recommend that you deliver the document to ISYY before the nomination of candidates ends so that students can find your list’s information. Please note that the Central Election Committee officially accepts the documents after the nomination period has ended.
2. The representative of the candidate list receives notifications of new candidates to their list to the email address they’ve given on the “announcement of the representative of the list” document.
3. The representative must confirm or reject the new candidates by replying to the email received from ISYY’s Coordinator of the Representative Council Elections.
4. The representative must deliver the “suggestion for the candidate list” document (electronic or paper form) to ISYY by 5.10.2023 by 3 pm. The electronic document is signed via Visma Sign (requires strong identification). Please note that the electronic Visma Sign process needs to be completed before the nomination period ends. The paper form needs to be signed and delivered to ISYY’s office.
5. Please note, that if you are creating an electoral coalition of lists, the announcement is also signed via Visma Sign (requires strong identification).

Campaigning

Candidates of the ISYY Representative Council have the opportunity to campaing on the campuses of both cities on separately announced days. Dates and places reserved for the campaigning can be found in the election calendar. Remember to register for the campaigning days with the form(s) linked below.

Google Forms, opens in a new window: Registration for campaigning days in Joensuu

Google Forms, opens in a new window: Registration for campaigning days in Kuopio

Candidate Lists have a possibility to hang their poster to the official noticeboards that are clearly marked with ISYY's Candidate List Combination and that are located in the campus buildings.

The Central Election Committee has issued election advertising guidelines for the 2023 Representative Council Elections, which you can find from the link below.

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Election Advertising Guidelines 2023 (pdf)

Candidate Gallery in Tuudo

Voting in these elections is done via Tuudo. Tuudo offers a candidate gallery in which voters can read more about the candidates. The candidates have the possibility to send ISYY an introduction text of themselves, a picture and a link (e.g. to a blog) via an electronic form. The form can be found on the "Election documents" webpage. ISYY's Coordinator of the Representative Council elections adds the candidates' information to the candidate gallery.

Need help?

If you have any questions or you need help, contact our Coordinator of Administration.

Elina Pitkänen, Coordinator of Administration, Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland (ISYY), kv.kuopio(at)isyy.fi, tel. +358 44 576 8413

Read more: 

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: 2023 Election Announcement of the Representative Council Elections (pdf)

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: The Election Regulations

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Representatives for the Candidate Lists

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Processing of Personal Data

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Election Calendar

Isyy.fi, opens in a new tab: Election Documents