European Parliament election, 1996 (Finland)
Encyclopedia
The European Parliament election of 1996 in Finland was the first election of the Finnish delegation to the European Parliament
.
In 1996, Finland
had a population of 5.1 million (4.1 million voters). The government was a broad coalition led by the social democrat Paavo Lipponen
. The governing coalition consisted of: the Social Democrats
(SDP), The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), the Left Alliance (Vasemmistoliitto), The Swedish People's Party (RKP) and the Greens (Vihreä liitto).
An asterisk (*) indicates Members standing for re-election.
All Finnish citizens that were 18 years old on the election day at the latest, were eligible to vote. They did not have to register as it was done automatically by the authorities. Other citizens of the European Union
who had a domicile
in Finland on the 30th August 1996 were eligible to vote, although they had to register as voters in Finland and confirm that they did not vote in any other Member State during the elections in 1994 and 1995, and would not vote in Austria in 1996.
According to the Finnish Population Register Center (Väestrekisterikeskus) there were at the end of August 1996 some 72600 foreigners living in Finland. Biggest national groups willing to vote were the Swedes
, the Germans
and the British
. The final date for the registration was the 15th of August 1996.
In June Väestrekisterikeskus approached with an official letter all the EU nationals
living in Finland. The letter was in Finnish, Swedish
, English
, French
and German
.
In the European elections candidates could be nominated by the registered political parties and citizens' groups. The parties could do the nomination automatically. The other groups had to gather supporting signatures for each of their candidates from each of the four election districts i.e. each candidate must have had 4 x 1000 supporting signatures. This meant that a non-party organization wanting to nominate the maximum number (16) of candidates had to collect 64000 signatures altogether.
The parties and other groups could choose between two different systems. They could nominate candidates for the whole country or for a region. For the elections Finland was divided into four districts. However, all the parties nominated candidates for the whole country.
The deadline for the parties and other organizations to put forward candidates was the 19th of September 1996. There were 14 parties and one other organization in the elections. The total number of candidates was 207.
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Background
In 1996, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
had a population of 5.1 million (4.1 million voters). The government was a broad coalition led by the social democrat Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005...
. The governing coalition consisted of: the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...
(SDP), The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), the Left Alliance (Vasemmistoliitto), The Swedish People's Party (RKP) and the Greens (Vihreä liitto).
Composition before election
- ELDR Group (6): Elisabeth REHN, Mirja RYYNÄNEN*, Olli Ilmari REHN*, Paavo VÄYRYNEN*, Seppo PELTTARI, Timo Juhani JÄRVILAHTI.
- PES Group (4): Mikko RÖNNHOLM*, Riitta MYLLER*, Saara-Maria PAAKKINEN, Ulpu IIVARI*.
- EPP Group (4): Pirjo RUSANEN*, Riitta JOUPPILA*, Ritva Tellervo LAURILA*, Kyösti TOIVONEN*
- EUL/NGL Group (1): Marjatta STENIUS-KAUKONEN.
- Green Group (1): Heidi HAUTALA*.
An asterisk (*) indicates Members standing for re-election.
Electoral system
All Finnish citizens that were 18 years old on the election day at the latest, were eligible to vote. They did not have to register as it was done automatically by the authorities. Other citizens of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
who had a domicile
Domicile (law)
In law, domicile is the status or attribution of being a permanent resident in a particular jurisdiction. A person can remain domiciled in a jurisdiction even after they have left it, if they have maintained sufficient links with that jurisdiction or have not displayed an intention to leave...
in Finland on the 30th August 1996 were eligible to vote, although they had to register as voters in Finland and confirm that they did not vote in any other Member State during the elections in 1994 and 1995, and would not vote in Austria in 1996.
According to the Finnish Population Register Center (Väestrekisterikeskus) there were at the end of August 1996 some 72600 foreigners living in Finland. Biggest national groups willing to vote were the Swedes
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
, the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
. The final date for the registration was the 15th of August 1996.
In June Väestrekisterikeskus approached with an official letter all the EU nationals
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
living in Finland. The letter was in Finnish, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
In the European elections candidates could be nominated by the registered political parties and citizens' groups. The parties could do the nomination automatically. The other groups had to gather supporting signatures for each of their candidates from each of the four election districts i.e. each candidate must have had 4 x 1000 supporting signatures. This meant that a non-party organization wanting to nominate the maximum number (16) of candidates had to collect 64000 signatures altogether.
The parties and other groups could choose between two different systems. They could nominate candidates for the whole country or for a region. For the elections Finland was divided into four districts. However, all the parties nominated candidates for the whole country.
The deadline for the parties and other organizations to put forward candidates was the 19th of September 1996. There were 14 parties and one other organization in the elections. The total number of candidates was 207.
Parties running in the election
Parties represented in the EP
- SDP : The Finnish Social Democratic Party
- Keskusta: Finnish Center Party
- Kokoomus: The National Coalition Party
- Vasemmistoliitto: The Left Alliance
- RKP/SFP: The Swedish People's Party
- Vilhreät: The Greens
Parties not represented in the EP
- SKL/Kristillinen liitto: Finnish Christian Union
- PS/Perussuomalaiset: True Finns
- NUSU/Nuorsuomalaiset: Young Finns
- Liberaalinen Kansanpuolue: Liberal Party
- Suomen Eläkeläisten Puolue: Pensioners
- Luonnonlain Puolue: Law of Nature
- Vaihtoehto EU:Lle: Anti-EU Movement
Results
| turnout | 57,6% |
|---|---|
| votes cast | 2 366 504 |
| invalid votes | 117 093 |
| Party | MEPs | Votes | ||
| Amount | Percentage | |||
| Center Party | 4 | 548 041 | 24,36% | |
| Social Democratic Party of Finland Social Democratic Party of Finland The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many... |
4 | 482 577 | 21,45% | |
| National Coalition Party National Coalition Party (Finland) The National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.The National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the True Finns... |
4 | 453 729 | 20,17% | |
| Left Alliance Left Alliance (Finland) The Left Alliance is a left-wing political party in Finland. It was founded on the basis of the Finnish People's Democratic League and the Communist Party of Finland in 1990.... |
2 | 236 490 | 10,51% | |
| Green League Green League The Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö.... |
1 | 170 670 | 7,59% | |
| Swedish People's Party | 1 | 129 425 | 5,75% | |
| Young Finnish Party Young Finns Young Finns was a liberal political party in Finland founded in 1994 and abolished in 1999. In the 1995 parliamentary elections, the party gained two seats, held by Risto Penttilä and Jukka Tarkka. In the 1999 election Young Finns failed to get any seats and it was discontinued... |
68 134 | 3,03% | ||
| Christian League of Finland Christian Democrats (Finland) The Christian Democrats is a Christian democratic political party in Finland. Formerly known as the Finnish Christian League , the Christian Democrats have six seats in the Finnish Parliament and one in the European Parliament.The party was founded in 1958, chiefly from the Christian faction of... |
63 279 | 2,81% | ||
| Alternative to EU | 47 687 | 2,12% | ||
| True Finns True Finns True Finns or The Finns is a populist and nationalist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, The party won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party... |
15 004 | 0,67% | ||
| League for Free Finland | 13 746 | 0,61% | ||
| Liberal People's Party | 8 305 | 0,37% | ||
| Pensioners' Party of Finland | 6 357 | 0,28% | ||
| Natural Law Party Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party was a transnational party based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was active in up to 74 countries, and ran candidates in at least ten. Founded in 1992, it was mostly disbanded in 2004 but continues in India and in some U.S. states.The NLP viewed "natural law" as... |
3 327 | 0,15% | ||
| Pensioners for People | 2 640 | 0,12% | ||
| Total | 16 | 2 249 411 | 100% | |
| Source: Tilastokeskus | ||||