Former Tampere Deputy Mayor Ilkka Sasi Joins Finns Party Candidate List for Pirkanmaa

Ilkka Sasi, the former deputy mayor of Tampere, will stand as a Finns Party parliamentary candidate in Pirkanmaa in 2027, the local paper Tamperelainen reports.

The Pirkanmaa Finns Party has added Sasi and entrepreneur and family caregiver Lisa Wes from Urjala to its roster as it builds toward a full list.

Sasi was dismissed from his deputy mayor post and expelled from his council group in 2024 amid criminal suspicions. He was investigated for sexual harassment and alcohol-related offences, but prosecutors declined to file charges and the Supreme Administrative Court later rejected his application for leave to appeal.

He previously served as a National Coalition councillor. In 2025 he ran on the Finns Party list as an unaffiliated candidate in Tampere but failed to win a seat.

The party has so far published 14 of the planned 20 candidates for Pirkanmaa. Party chair Janne Ojala said the campaign will focus on the economy, internal and external security, citizens' welfare, the rising cost of living and what he called reckless distribution of public funds. He described the candidate list as unusually strong.

Other Pirkanmaa parties have also begun naming candidates for 2027. See the Social Democrats' recent additions and the Left Alliance's candidate announcement.