A fresh poll indicates that public interest in the upcoming municipal elections is on the rise. According to a survey commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup, 54% of eligible voters say that they are sure to cast ballots in the local elections on October 24th.
In a previous poll, published in September, the corresponding figure was 50%.
The increase in voter certainty was greatest in the Helsinki region, where the previous poll indicated that the proportion of sure voters among the electorate was less than 50%.
Now the figure in the Helsinki region and the whole Uusimaa area has risen to 61% of those of voting age.
A truly significant change is that the enthusiasm of young voters has risen a full nine percentage points from the previous poll, to 31%.
The most active group of voters are those aged 64 and over, 71% of whom are sure that they will vote in the municipal elections.
The survey was taken shortly before absentee balloting begins. The last of the interviews for the polls were taken on Saturday. Absentee voting begins tomorrow, October 13th.
