1999 Finnish parliamentary election

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1999 Finnish parliamentary election
Flag of Finland (state).svg
  1995 21 March 1999 2003  

All 200 seats in Parliament
101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout65.3%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Paavo Lipponen 2004.jpg Visit of Esko Aho, Finnish Prime Minister, to the EC (cropped).jpg Sauli Niinisto.jpg
Leader Paavo Lipponen Esko Aho Sauli Niinistö
Party SDP Centre National Coalition
Last election63 seats, 28.3%44 seats, 19.9%39 seats, 17.9%
Seats won514846
Seat changeDecrease2.svg12Increase2.svg4Increase2.svg7
Popular vote612,963600,592563,835
Percentage22.9%22.4%21.0%
SwingDecrease2.svg5.4ppIncrease2.svg2.6ppIncrease2.svg3.1pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  Suvi-Anne Siimes.jpg Satuhassi.jpg Jan-Erik Enestam, Finlands miljo- och samarbetsminister.jpg
Leader Suvi-Anne Siimes Satu Hassi Jan-Erik Enestam
Party Left Alliance Green RKP
Last election22 seats, 11.2%9 seats, 6.5%11 seats, 5.1%
Seats won201111
Seat changeDecrease2.svg2Increase2.svg2Steady2.svg0
Popular vote291,675194,846137,330
Percentage10.9%7.3%5.1%
SwingDecrease2.svg0.3ppIncrease2.svg0.8ppSteady2.svg0.0pp

 Seventh partyEighth partyNinth party
  Bjarne Kallis 2011 cropped.jpg Risto Kuisma.jpg Timo Soini A4.jpeg
Leader Bjarne Kallis Risto Kuisma Timo Soini
Party Christian League Reform Finns
Last election7 seats, 3.0%New party1 seat, 1.3% (SMP)
Seats won1011
Seat changeIncrease2.svg3Increase2.svg1Steady2.svg0
Popular vote111,83528,54926,440
Percentage4.2%1.1%1.0%
SwingIncrease2.svg1.1ppIncrease2.svg1.1ppDecrease2.svg0.3pp

Finnish parliamentary election results by province, 1999.png

Prime Minister before election

Paavo Lipponen
SDP

Prime Minister after election

Paavo Lipponen
SDP

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 21 March 1999. [1] Despite suffering significant losses, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) remained the largest party of the Eduskunta and Paavo Lipponen remained Prime Minister.

Contents

Background

Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's five-party "rainbow government" consisting of the SDP, National Coalition Party, Left Alliance, Swedish People's Party and the Green League had been in power since April 1995. It had managed to keep Finland's economy growing, to reduce the state's budget deficit and to create jobs, although it had failed to halve the unemployment rate: in 1995, the unemployment had been 15.4% and in 1999, it still stood at 10.2%. This was, as the governing parties pointed out, still a better record than the previous centre-right government's performance; during its term between 1991 and 1995, the unemployment had risen from 6.6% to 15.4%.

Campaign

The largest opposition party, the Centre Party, tried to become the largest party overall, and to re-join the government. They called for labour reform, which they claimed would make it easier for employers to hire new employees and for small enterprises to operate. Finland's largest labour unions rejected the proposed work reform, claiming that it would reduce the employees' job security and would excessively increase the employers' power. The Centrists also accused the government of not improving the Finnish economy enough, and of not slowing down sufficiently the large internal migration of Finns from the rural towns and small cities to the large economic growth centres, like the Helsinki and Tampere regions.

Several parties hired as their candidates previously non-political or only locally politically active celebrities, such as Leena Harkimo, the manager of Helsinki's ice hockey team Jokerit, Lasse Virén, a former long-distance running Olympic champion, and Anni Sinnemäki, the songwriter of pop music group Ultra Bra. Some of these celebrities got elected. After the elections, Prime Minister Lipponen formed a new government of the same five parties. Only one of those parties left the government during the parliamentary term 1999-2003: the Greens moved into the opposition in May 2002, when the Parliament approved the construction of Finland's fifth nuclear power plant. [2] [3]

Results

1999 Eduskunta.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Social Democratic Party 612,96322.8651−12
Centre Party 600,59222.4048+4
National Coalition Party 563,83521.0346+7
Left Alliance 291,67510.8820−2
Green League 194,8467.2711+2
Swedish People's Party 137,3305.12110
Finnish Christian League 111,8354.1710+3
Reform Group 28,5491.061New
Young Finns 28,0841.050−2
Finns Party 26,4400.991New
Communist Party 20,4420.760New
Ecological Party the Greens 10,3780.390−1
Alliance for Free Finland 10,1040.3800
Liberals for Åland 5,8700.2210
Pensioners for People5,4510.2000
Liberal People's Party 5,1940.1900
Pensioners' Party4,4810.1700
Natural Law Party3,9030.1500
Åland CentreFreemindedNon-aligned 3,6780.1400
Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism 3,4550.1300
Åland Social Democrats 9240.0300
Others11,2620.420
Total2,681,291100.002000
Valid votes2,681,29198.94
Invalid/blank votes28,8041.06
Total votes2,710,095100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,152,43065.27
Source: Tilastokeskus, [4] ASUB

By electoral district

Electoral district Total
seats
Seats won
SDP Kesk Kok Vas Vihr RKP SKL Rem PS L
Åland 11
Central Finland 1034111
Häme 13424111
Helsinki 20517142
Kymi1353311
Lapland 81412
North Karelia7421
North Savo1024211
Oulu 18292311
Pirkanmaa 16425311
Satakunta 1032221
South Savo8332
Uusima 3283933411
Vaasa 17362411
Varsinais-Suomi 174352111
Total20051484620111110111
Source: Statistics Finland [5]

By province

Province Social Democratic Centre National Coalition Left Alliance Green League Swedish People's Christian League Reform Group Young Finns True Finns Communist ElectorateVotesValidInvalid
Southern Savonia 26,02930,23114,7782,2844,19505,1375380578168132,33585,64184,8031,019
Northern Savonia 24,88945,22620,32317,7315,86105,7495717473,4671,140198,391127,436126,6111,143
Northern Karelia 32,46726,7269,9234,4573,72405,5793082,1621,392688133,38988,82588,243790
Kainuu 4,01020,5934,51512,1501,192091945020133258370,68446,60046,201532
Uusimaa 150,58555,513183,70058,35491,81960,28117,90312,34215,9091,2583,831962,873666,338663,8137,536
Eastern Uusimaa 10,8794,8886,5892,3372,74813,8558711,67233513822366,33645,47945,170527
Southwest Finland 54,98839,61663,75327,93918,17811,8815,4211,0101,8085871,640344,072236,766235,2032,465
Tavastia Proper 24,86616,31020,8036,7705,80808,514556487162571127,72887,77686,7831,184
Päijänne Tavastia 26,37415,56927,4819,4005,933366,9231,027313679591153,10897,46396,6561,134
Kymenlaakso 34,44819,21924,9318,3115,45605,0495840178657149,27199,97899,4121,068
South Karelia 22,17219,43317,4152,4693,75104,1754030465572108,57671,95871,337849
Central Finland 33,74441,45920,22316,8167,11624710,8758491,7683001,082202,050136,420135,4551,461
Southern Ostrobothnia 15,04152,12821,7113,8211,9441924,06357408,402272150,517110,174109,683807
Ostrobothnia 15,0519,7418,8096,2302,36947,3344,69424101,371334131,97996,95296,955781
Satakunta 36,72230,58727,94320,4154,044106,0848233852478188,315130,669129,5181,476
Pirkanmaa 55,56936,27856,91836,80016,123010,8172,0733,1171,3852,927343,944236,491234,8232,487
Central Ostrobothnia 6,09016,0323,2881,8227443,2084,62883901,70114453,39939,08038,906376
Northern Ostrobothnia 25,16476,61120,37625,47611,99403,1193,0531,2342,6354,136263,201178,469177,4981,898
Lapland 13,87544,43210,35628,0931,8472861,3156360558405148,965103,754103,7491,122
Åland 0000000000019,13210,46510,472149
Source: European Election Database Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine

References

  1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Hannakatri Hollmén et al (2000) What Where When 2000 - The Citizen's Yearbook, Otava, pp208–211, 240–241
  3. Jukka Hartikainen et al (2002) What Where When 2003 - The Citizen's Yearbook, Otava, pp15–116
  4. Eduskuntavaalit 1927–2003 Tilastokeskus 2004
  5. Vaalit 1999:1 - Eduskuntavaalit 1999. Statistics Finland. 1999.