ELECTIONS HELD IN 1999
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| Chamber: | |
| Eduskunta - Riksdagen | |
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| 21 March 1999 | |
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| Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. | |
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| Following the previous (1995) general elections, a five-party "rainbow" coalition led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had come to power, with 145 of the 200 parliamentary seats. In ideological terms, this alliance ranged from ex-communist and ecological parties to conservatives.
In the four intervening years, the Government headed by Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (SDP) had succeeded in improving the country's economy through, inter alia, tough reforms to pave the way for Finland's entry into the European economic and monetary union. This performance resulted in the economy becoming a virtual non-topic during the somewhat moribund campaign, although there were differences on tax and labor market policies. Debate was similarly lacking in foreign affairs issues such as NATO membership and relations with the Russian Federation, as the leaders of the three major parties - Prime Minister Lipponen, Mr. Esko Aho of the main opposition Center Party (KESK) and Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto of the conservative National Coalition Party (KOK) adhered to an unwritten non-aggression pact. Nearly 2000 candidates were in contention. On polling day, the SDP clung to its leading parliamentary position although losing 12 seats, which analysts attributed primarily to a cronyism scandal in the party and public resentment of its radical economic reforms. On the other hand, both KESK and KOK recorded impressive gains to stay at the heels of the Social Democrats. The Conservatives - whose platform advocated cutting taxes, trimming government spending and boosting flexibility in the labour market, and who projected a pro-European, modern image - picked up the most additional seats (7). Altogether 10 of the 13 parties in the running gained representation. After the elections, Mr. Lipponen was the first to try to form a new government. After hearing the political plans of the various parties, he announced that he would try to form a government with the same partners as the previous one (SDP, KOK, the Left-Wing Alliance (VL), the Greens and the Swedish People's Party (SFP). This was done on 13 April. |
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STATISTICS
| Round no 1 (21 March 1999): Elections results | |
| Number of registered electors | 4 152 430 |
| Voters | 2 710 095 (65 %) |
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 28 804 |
| Valid votes | 2 681 291 |
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | |||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 229 | 612 693 | 22.86 |
| Center Party (KESK) | 223 | 600 592 | 22.40 |
| National Coalition Party (KOK) | 221 | 563 835 | 21.03 |
| Left-Wing Alliance (VL) | 212 | 291 675 | 10.88 |
| Swedish People's Party (SFP) | 77 | 137 330 | 5.12 |
| Greens | 196 | 194 846 | 7.27 |
| Finnish Christian League (SKL) | 73 | 111 835 | 4.17 |
| Others | 762 | 168 215 | 6.27 |
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
| Political Group | Total | ||
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 51 | ||
| Center Party (KESK) | 48 | ||
| National Coalition Party (KOK) | 46 | ||
| Left-Wing Alliance (VL) | 20 | ||
| Swedish People's Party (SFP) | 11 | ||
| Greens | 11 | ||
| Finnish Christian League (SKL) | 10 | ||
| Others | 3 | ||
| Distribution of seats according to sex: | |
| Men: | 126 |
| Women: | 74 |
| Percent of women: | 37.00 |
| Distribution of seats according to age: | ||
| 21 to 30 years | 13 | |
| 31 to 40 years | 40 | |
| 41 to 50 years | 48 | |
| 51 to 60 years | 89 | |
| 61 to 70 years | 10 | |
Copyright © 1999 Inter-Parliamentary Union