1951 Finnish parliamentary election

1951 Finnish parliamentary election
All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland ; 101 seats needed for a majority
Prime Minister before election; Urho Kekkonen ; Agrarian	Prime Minister after election; Urho Kekkonen ; Agrarian

Last updated February 18, 2024

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1951.^[1]

Background

Urho Kekkonen of the Agrarian League had served as Prime Minister since March 1950, after losing the February 1950 presidential election to President Juho Kusti Paasikivi.

Kekkonen had governed first with the Swedish People's Party and National Progressive Party, but in January 1951 the Social Democratic Party had joined his government. The rationing of goods was ending gradually and the war reparation payments to the Soviet Union were to be completed by 1952. Prime Minister Kekkonen sought to reduce inflation by persuading the employers' organizations and labour unions to refrain from wage increases for the time being. In May 1951, these organizations agreed not to raise wages or prices for five months. During this "castle peace" or civic peace, the Social Democrats took most leadership positions in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions.

The communist Finnish People's Democratic League benefited from the fact that the Social Democrats had agreed to govern with the Agrarians, and had thus "betrayed" (according to some Communists' campaign rhetoric) their fellow left-wingers. The economy's and inflation rate's stabilization possibly hurt the low-income workers (a likely constituency of the Communists) more than the white-collar workers or the businessmen, and this could partly explain the Communists' gain of five deputies. The People's Party of Finland had been formed as the Progressives' successor, and this fresh start can have contributed to its five-seat gain. After the elections, Kekkonen continued to serve as Prime Minister, forming his third government in September 1951. He introduced a new economic stabilization programme, which tied the prices and wages to an automatic full compensation.^[2]

Results



Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	480,754	26.52	53	–1
	Agrarian League	421,613	23.26	51	–5
	Finnish People's Democratic League	391,134	21.58	43	+5
	National Coalition Party	264,044	14.57	28	–5
	Swedish People's Party	131,719	7.27	14	+1
	People's Party of Finland	102,933	5.68	10	+5
	Åland Coalition	5,686	0.31	1	0
	Small Farmers Party	4,964	0.27	0	0
	Liberal League	4,936	0.27	0	New
	Radical People's Party	4,486	0.25	0	0
	Finnish People's Party	243	0.01	0	New
	Others	305	0.02	0	–
Total		1,812,817	100.00	200	0

Valid votes		1,812,817	99.29
Invalid/blank votes		12,962	0.71
Total votes		1,825,779	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,448,239	74.58
Source: Tilastokeskus 2004,^[3] Suomen virallinen tilasto^[4]

By electoral district

Electoral district	Total seats	Seats won
		SDP	ML	SKDL	Kok	RKP	SK	ÅS

Åland	1							1
Central Finland	12	4	5	2	1
Häme	14	5	2	3	3		1
Kymi	15	6	4	2	3
Lapland	8	1	3	3	1
North Karelia	11	4	3	2	1		1
North Savo	13	2	5	4	1		1
North Vaasa	8	1	3	1	1	2
Oulu	18	2	8	6	1		1
Pirkanmaa	13	5	1	4	3
Satakunta	15	4	4	4	3
South Savo	12	4	5	1	1		1
South Vaasa	10	1	3	1	2	3
Uusima	33	10	2	6	5	7	3
Varsinais-Suomi	17	4	3	4	2	2	2
Total	200	53	51	43	28	14	10	1

Source: Statistics Finland^[5]

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References

↑ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
↑ Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds. (2003) A Small Giant of the Finnish History WSOY, pp803-808
↑ File "595. Eduskuntavaalit 1927–2003 (Tilastokeskus 2004)
↑ Suomen virallinen tilasto 29 A, Kansanedustajain vaalit, XXII(?).
↑ Suomen virallinen tilasto XXIX A:23: Eduskuntavaalit vuonna 1951. Statistics Finland. 1952.

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[DN-1] Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7

[2] Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds. (2003) A Small Giant of the Finnish History WSOY, pp803-808

[3] File "595. Eduskuntavaalit 1927–2003 (Tilastokeskus 2004)

[4] Suomen virallinen tilasto 29 A, Kansanedustajain vaalit, XXII(?).

[5] Suomen virallinen tilasto XXIX A:23: Eduskuntavaalit vuonna 1951. Statistics Finland. 1952.

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