1991 Finnish parliamentary election

1991 Finnish parliamentary election

←  1987 17 March 1991 1995  →
All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland 101 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Esko Aho Pertti Paasio Ilkka Suominen Party Centre SDP National Coalition Last election 17.62%, 40 seats 24.14%, 56 seats 23.13%, 53 seats Seats won 55 48 40 Seat change 15 8 13 Popular vote 676,717 603,080 526,487 Percentage 24.83% 22.12% 19.31% Swing 7.21pp 2.02pp 3.82pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Claes Andersson Ole Norrback Heidi Hautala Party Left Alliance RKP Green Last election 13.63%, 20 seats 5.30%, 12 seats 4.03%, 4 seats Seats won 19 11 10 Seat change 1 1 6 Popular vote 274,639 149,476 185,894 Percentage 10.08% 5.48% 6.82% Swing 3.55pp 0.18pp 2.79pp   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Toimi Kankaanniemi Heikki Riihijärvi Kaarina Koivistoinen Party Christian League Rural Party Liberal People's Last election 2.58%, 5 seats 6.32%, 9 seats 0.97%, 0 seats Seats won 8 7 1 Seat change 3 2 1 Popular vote 83,151 132,133 21,210 Percentage 3.05% 4.85% 0.78% Swing 0.47pp 1.47pp 0.19pp
Prime Minister before election Harri Holkeri National Coalition Prime Minister after election Esko Aho Centre

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 17 March 1991, the first time a Finnish parliamentary election had been held on a single day. ^{[1] [2]} For the first time since 1962 the Social Democratic Party was displaced as the largest party in the Eduskunta, with the Centre Party winning 55 seats and forming the first centre-right, non-social democratic government since 1964, ^[3] with Esko Aho as Prime Minister.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Centre Party	676,717	24.83	55	+15
	Social Democratic Party	603,080	22.12	48	–8
	National Coalition Party	526,487	19.31	40	–13
	Left Alliance	274,639	10.08	19	–1
	Green League	185,894	6.82	10	+6
	Swedish People's Party	149,476	5.48	11	–1
	Finnish Rural Party	132,133	4.85	7	–2
	Finnish Christian League	83,151	3.05	8	+3
	Liberal People's Party	21,210	0.78	1	+1
	Women's Party	12,725	0.47	0	New
	Pensioners' Party	10,762	0.39	0	0
	Constitutional Right Party	7,599	0.28	0	0
	Liberals for Åland–Freeminded–Greens	6,546	0.24	1	0
	Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism	6,201	0.23	0	New
	Independent Non-aligned Pensioners	5,230	0.19	0	New
	Greens	3,835	0.14	0	–
	Humanity Party	2,831	0.10	0	New
	Joint Responsibility Party of Pensioners and the Greens	2,807	0.10	0	New
	Åland Centre	1,858	0.07	0	0
	Åland Social Democrats	940	0.03	0	0
	Others	11,797	0.43	0	–
Total		2,725,918	100.00	200	0
Valid votes		2,725,918	98.16
Invalid/blank votes		51,066	1.84
Total votes		2,776,984	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,060,778	68.39
Source: Tilastokeskus, [4] ASUB

By electoral district

Electoral district	Total seats	Seats won
		Kesk	SDP	Kok	Vas	RKP	Vihr	SKL	SMP	LKP	L–S–G
Åland	1										1
Central Finland	10	3	3	1	1			1	1
Häme	13	3	4	4	1		1
Helsinki	20	1	5	6	2	2	3	1
Kymi	13	4	5	3			1
Lapland	8	5	1		2
North Karelia	7	3	2	1				1
North Savo	10	5	2	1	1				1
Oulu	18	9	2	2	3		1			1
Pirkanmaa	15	2	4	4	2		1	1	1
Satakunta	12	3	3	2	2			1	1
South Savo	8	3	3	2
Uusimaa	30	4	7	8	2	4	3	1	1
Vaasa	18	6	3	2	1	4		1	1
Varsinais-Suomi	17	4	4	4	2	1		1	1
Total	200	55	48	40	19	11	10	8	7	1	1
Source: Statistics Finland [5]

Aftermath

The new center-right coalition government would not have an easy time governing the country. The fall of the Soviet Union caused a collapse in trade with the east, which together with a worldwide recession, caused major economic problems including high unemployment and ballooning budget deficits. In response, the government adopted strict austerity measures, such as cuts in public spending, the unpopularity of which led to the government's defeat in the 1995 elections.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Berglund, Sten (1991). "The finnish parliamentary election of 1991" . Electoral Studies. 10 (3): 256–261. doi:10.1016/0261-3794(91)90016-l. ISSN   0261-3794.
3. Paavo Väyrynen (1993) It Is Time for the Truth 2: Facts and Memories About Mauno Koivisto's Finland, WSOY
4. Eduskuntavaalit 1927–2003 Tilastokeskus 2004
5. Vaalit 1991:2 - Kansanedustajain vaalit 1991. Statistics Finland. 1991.