Ask us about becoming a candidate in TEK's council elections!

Why stand as a candidate? 

• As TEK’s councillor, you’ll be part of a dream team that includes professionals from various fields of technology and natural sciences across Finland.
• You can delve behind the scenes of the labour market through interesting speeches and discussions – information that is not available anywhere else!
• Of course, you will also have influence over matters close to you as a TEK member and will take part in deciding TEK’s future during the 2026-2029 term.
• Even if you are not elected, just becoming a candidate allows you to become familiar with TEK’s activities, its democratic processes and meet other active TEK members. 

What does it mean to be a council member? 

• Council members contribute to the development of TEK’s operations. In practice, this means that council members attend council meetings and participate in the activities of their own council groups.
• If you want to hear more about working in the council, feel free to contact the current groups or read more about the meetings of the current council. 

What happens in council meetings? 

• Council meetings are usually held twice a year and last for 1-2 days. The council also holds an inaugural meeting at the beginning of its term. Council meetings are usually held in person; travel and accommodation expenses are reimbursed.
• Council meetings often include interesting presentations and speeches on topical themes. In addition, TEK’s office informs the council on TEK’s recent events and activities.
• The spring meeting and autumn meeting also include statutory matters, such as the operating plan and the budget.
• Council initiatives, i.e. proposals for new measures, can be made by individuals, council groups and combinations of both.
• You can read more about the anatomy of a council meeting in this article.

Who can stand as a candidate? 

• You can stand as a candidate if you are a full or pensioner member of TEK or full or pensioner member of TFiF-TEK, and your membership has been valid on 1 January 2026. Dual members (full and pensioner members) are also considered TEK members.
• Student members cannot participate in the elections; student representatives are elected through the local associations of university cities for one calendar year at a time.

How do I become a candidate?

• You can become a candidate of an existing group or set up your own group, read more here. The groups represented in the council during its term are called council groups, whereas groups appointing candidates for elections are called electoral alliances.
• The electoral alliances are currently gathering candidates. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to ask representatives of the current groups about their experiences.
• If you wish to become a candidate, you need to inform your electoral alliance’s electoral officer, and provide them with the required candidate information. Candidate information is published in TEK’s candidate compilation list and as part of other election-related communications.
• If your electoral alliance uses the electronic candidate registration tool, you will receive a separate e-mail message through which you can accept your candidacy. You can then wait for TEK to send you further information and instructions.
• Electoral alliances may also have their own processes for candidates. To learn more about these, please contact your electoral alliance’s electoral officer.

When does everything happen?

• Candidate nomination is open until February 9 at 12:00 noon.
• Candidates will be confirmed on February 25. Read more about candidate schedules here.
• From March 13 at 12:00 noon to March 30 at 12:00 noon, electronic voting will be open.
• By April 1 at 15:00, the results will be published.

What if I get elected? 

• Then you should be happy about your success! You can be elected as a full council member or a deputy member. Full council members have the right to attend and speak at all meetings of TEK’s General Council. Deputy members are group-specific; they participate in meetings when one or more full member of their council group is unable to attend. Deputy members are invited to meetings, when needed, in an order based on the election results.
• If you wish, you can choose to not accept the position after being elected. 

What if I don't get elected? 

• Don’t worry – being a candidate also opens up other channels for participating in TEK’s activities and promoting matters that are important to you.
• In addition to the General Council, TEK also has committees and working groups, whose members are mainly chosen from among the council groups.
• You can also participate in your council group’s activities even if you are not a council member.
• We hope that you find your own best way to participate in TEK’s activities! 

What kind of election campaign should I have? 

• The kind of campaign you want to have – TEK does not require candidates or electoral alliances to have campaigns, and there are no conditions on what an election campaign should be like.
• All candidates are allowed to respond to TEK’s election compass. The election compass helps voters find the candidate most suitable for them. The election compass will be opened for candidates on 26 February, and its questions are already available to read here.
• TEK publishes election-related communications and encourages members to vote. If you wish, you can share and use the election posts published on TEK’s social media channels.
• When making your own materials, you may identify and talk about the most important themes that you would want to work on as a council member.
• Find out which channels suit you best for reaching out to voters; some candidates might have fruitful discussions over coffee or lunch, while others may excel in social media and in online discussions.
• You can also meet with other candidates, both within and outside your own electoral alliance; extensive networks and cooperation across groups can open up new venues for campaigning. If your colleague or friend is also a candidate, you can work together in encouraging people to vote. This is also one way to make important contacts for upcoming council work.