| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Eduskunta - Riksdagen / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
18 March 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The March 2007 elections came on the heels of the country's presidency of the European Union from July to December 2006. As a result
the election campaign started late compared to previous ones. In the last elections held in March 2003
the Centre Party (KESK) led by Ms. Anneli Jäätteenmäki had won 55 seats. She was subsequently elected as the first female prime minister of the country and formed a centre-left coalition government with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of former prime minister Paavo Lipponen (which took 53 seats) and the Swedish People's Party (eight seats). The main opposition National Coalition Party (KOK)
a moderate conservative party
took 40 seats
while the remainder of seats was won by small parties.
In June 2003
Ms. Jäätteenmäki resigned after allegations surfaced of having illegally obtained confidential documents on the Iraq war
which she used in the 2003 election campaign. Mr. Matti Vanhanen (KESK) took over as Prime Minister. His government enjoyed wide popularity mainly because of high economic growth
approaching six per cent in 2006
and a 7.7 per cent unemployment rate
the lowest in 15 years.
In the 2007 elections
1
205 men and 799 women were vying for the 200 seats in the parliament.
As in previous elections
employment and taxation were the main issues in the 2007 elections. Prime Minister Vanhanen pledged to reduce VAT on food. The SDP said the VAT reduction must apply to ordinary goods so as to help people with the most modest and average incomes. The KOK
led by a 36-year-old new leader
Mr. Jyrki Katainen
pledged to cut the income tax of people with small and medium incomes. The SDP leader
Mr. Eero Heinäluoma
criticized the KESK for campaigning for the establishment of a "non-socialist" government comprising the KESK and the KOK.
The Swedish People's Party
representing the Swedish minority in Finland
promised to reform energy taxes in order to bring about more environment-friendly policies. The Left Alliance and the Green League hinted at a possible tax increase to provide better public services. The True Finns
known for its EU-skeptic policies
also fielded candidates.
Only 65.02 per cent of the country's 4.2 million registered voters turned out at the polls
the lowest post-war figure for general elections.
The biggest winner in the 2007 elections was the KOK
which gained ten more seats
winning 50 in all. Former KOK leader Sauli Niinistö was re-elected with over 60
000 votes or 10 per cent of the party's votes nationwide. The KESK remained the largest party in the parliament by winning 51 seats
although it lost four. The SDP lost eight seats
winning 45
reportedly suffering from the low turnout. The SDP lost its position as the country's second largest party for the first time since 1962.
The 2007 elections saw a record number of women elected to office - 84
nine more than in the previous elections. The number of MPs in their sixties almost doubled (32)
while that of those in their thirties dropped to two (both from the Green League)
down from four in the 2003 elections.
President Tarja Halonen opened the new parliament on 28 March 2007.
On 15 April
the KESK
the KOK
the Green League and the Swedish People's Party agreed to form a new government. On 17 April
parliament re-elected Mr. Matti Vanhanen (KESK) as Prime Minister with 121 votes. His 20-member cabinet announced on 19 April included 12 women (60 per cent)
a record high in the world.
On 24 April
Mr. Sauli Niinistö (KOK) was elected as the new Speaker.
Note on the "Election Results":
The statistics above include overseas voting. In all
208
887 Fins abroad were registered to vote. Turnout in Finland was 67.9 % (2
772
799 of the 4
083
549 registered voters turned out at the polls).
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 18 March 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
4'292'436
2'790'752 (65.02%)
19'516
2'771'236 |
|
Notes
|
Statistics above include oversea voting. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
Gain/Loss |
|
% |
|
|
| Center Party (KESK) |
|
640'428 |
-48'963 |
|
23.11 |
|
|
| National Coalition Party (KOK) |
|
616'841 |
98'937 |
|
22.26 |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party (SDP) |
|
594'194 |
-89'029 |
|
21.44 |
|
|
| Left Alliance |
|
244'296 |
-32'856 |
|
8.82 |
|
|
| Green League |
|
234'429 |
10'865 |
|
8.46 |
|
|
| Swedish People's Party (SFP) |
|
126'520 |
-2'304 |
|
4.57 |
|
|
| Christian Democrats (KD) |
|
134'790 |
-14'197 |
|
4.86 |
|
|
| True Finns |
|
112'256 |
68'440 |
|
4.05 |
|
|
| Others |
|
12'588 |
-'984 |
|
0.45 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
Number of women |
|
|
| Center Party (KESK) |
51
|
-4 |
15 |
|
|
| National Coalition Party (KOK) |
50
|
10 |
20 |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party (SDP) |
45
|
-8 |
25 |
|
|
| Left Alliance |
17
|
-2 |
3 |
|
|
| Green League |
15
|
1 |
10 |
|
|
| Swedish People's Party (SFP) |
9
|
1 |
5 |
|
|
| Christian Democrats (KD) |
7
|
0 |
4 |
|
|
| True Finns |
5
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
| Others |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
116
84
42.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
3
55
53
66
23
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Parliament (19.02.2008
01.01.2010)
- http://www.vaalit.fi/teksti/14173.htm
- http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/evaa/2007/evaa_2007_2007-03-26_tau_017_en.html
Note on the "Distribution of seats according to political groups"
"Others" includes a female candidate elected from the Province of Aland
representing an independent voters' association called "Borgerlig Allians". She subsequently joined the Swedish People's Party.
Note on distribution of seats according to sex:
Eighty-four women were elected on 18 March. However
after the formation of the new government on 19 April 2007
the total number of women parliamentarians decreased to 83 (41.50 per cent). |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
