The board and the staff are happy to tell you more about the Student Union and how to participate!
Representative council elections
Representative Council Elections
The highest decision-making body of the Student Union of the University of Vaasa is a 30-member council, whose members are elected for a two year term. All VYY members have the right to vote in Representative Council elections, that is, all the university basic degree students as well as those exchange and post-graduate students who are registered as attending and have paid the Student Union fee.
The Representative Council determines the Student Union’s strategy as well as, among other things, the amount of the membership fee and the action plan. The Representative Council also appoints the Executive Board and chooses the Secretary General.
If you have any questions regarding the Representative Council elections, please contact the Student Union's Secretary General.
Next Representative Council Elections are held in November 2025. More information on elections will be updated on this page.
What election?
What is the Representative Council?
The Representative Council (also known as edustajisto or edari) is a group of ordinary university students who decides on the most important matters that concern the Student Union and all its members. The VYY Representative Council has 30 members. The council is elected once every two years in an election where any VYY member may enter as a candidate and vote. All members also have the right to come and observe the council’s meetings, which are held about once a month from September to May.
What difference can I make in the Representative Council?
The Representative Council decides on a variety of things, ranging from the membership fee amount, Student Union rules, action plan and budget to the election of the Board and choosing a Secretary General. The annual action plan directs the activities of the Board and staff, determining what the Student Union will use their resources on.
Who can enter the election as a candidate?
All VYY members who have registered as attending at the University of Vaasa and paid the Student Union membership fee! You can either start your own electoral coalition, join an existing electoral coalition or run as a non-partisan candidate. The choice is yours.
How do I enter the election as a candidate and what election documents do I need to fill out?
To enter the election as a candidate you must fill out the Declaration of Candidacy form. All election documents are available at the Student Union service office. If you have any questions concerning how to fill out the Declaration of Candidacy or any other documents, do not hesitate to contact the proxy of your electoral coalition or the Student Union staff. In fact, if you have any questions at all concerning the election in general, you can come visit the Student Union service office or send email to the staff.
What is a council group?
The Representative Council has 30 members. A majority of the members belong in a council group. Groups are usually formed by people with a common cause, such as a field of study or a political stance.
Who can create an electoral coalition?
Any VYY member can create an electoral coalition.
Why should I vote in the election?
Because the Student Union decision making is all about you! It is important that members use their right to vote because that is how we make the Student Union do the things that you and other members want it to do. The Representative Council election you can vote online, so even if you are not on campus or even in Vaasa during the election days you can still use your vote!
Election announcement
REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL ELECTION 2025 OF THE STUDENT UNION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VAASA
ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON 4TH OF AUGUST 2025.
Election documents and instructions
The documents will be available on this page and from Service office later in Autumn 2025.
Instructions approved by Central election commission can be found below later in Autumn 2025.
Instructions
Instructions to candidates
Instructions to proxies
Instructions on campaigning
Election forms
Declaration of candidacy
Declaration of electoral coalition
Declaration of electoral coalition merge
Declaration of electoral ring
Electoral coalitions, candidates and voting advice application
Combined candidate list
The candidates for the Representative Council elections and the combined candidate list will be found here later in autumn 2023.
Combined candidate list and candidates of the 2023 Representative Council Elections.
Voting advice application
The voting advice application will be published later in autumn 2025.
Voting
The election is carried out with an electronic voting system. The voting days will be published on 4th of August 2025. The electronic voting system is open during the voting time, between 8-18 on every voting day.
To vote, you must log in using your univeristy login.
If you have any questions regarding voting or the voting system, please contact VYY's Secretary General.
To vote in the Representative Council election, use the following link:
The voting link will be delivered here before the election period begins.
Results
You can check the results of elections 2023 from the link below:
Results of the election can be found here.
The results of the 2021 elections can be found here.