Presidential elections were held in 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...

 in 1988. They were the first elections held under the new system. Previously the public had elected an electoral college that in turn elected the President. For this election the public directly elected the President on 31 January and 1 February, but also elected an electoral college that would elect the President if no candidate won over 50% of the public vote. The college was increased in size from 300 to 301 seats to prevent a tie.

The contest's outcome, the re-election of Mauno Koivisto

Mauno Koivisto

Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...

, surprised no one, yet he captured a smaller portion of the direct vote than expected—only 48.9 percent, rather than the 60 to 70 percent forecast by opinion polls during 1987. His failure to win more than half of the direct, or popular, vote of the 84 percent turnout meant that Koivisto could claim victory only after he had the support of a majority of the 301-member electoral college. This he achieved on the body's second ballot, when the votes of 45 of the 63 electors pledged to the KOK candidate, Prime Minister Harri Holkeri, were added to those of the 144 electors he had won on his own. Koivisto's inability to win the presidency directly was caused by an upsurge of support in the final weeks of the campaign for his stronger rivals, Kesk's Paavo Väyrynen

Paavo Väyrynen

Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...

 and the KOK's Holkeri—who got 20.1 and 18.1 percent of the vote respectively, and Kalevi Kivistö, the candidate of voters linked to the SKDL and the Greens, who got 10.4 percent. The strong finish of Väyrynen and Kivistö was regarded by some as a vote against the KOK-SDP coalition formed after the March 1987 parliamentary election. The 1.4 percent garnered by the DEVA candidate, Jouko Kajanoja, indicated the marginal role that the Stalinist

Stalinism

Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...

 wing of the communist movement played in the country's political life.

Campaign

The campaign did not center, to any significant degree, on issues, but on the candidates themselves; Väyrynen and Holkeri both clearly wanted to position themselves well for the presidential election of 1994. Neither had any hope of defeating the ever-popular Koivisto in 1988, and it was widely assumed that he would not again seek re-election. Väyrynen was seen as the winner of this race for position, in that he had come from far behind in the polls, had easily beaten Koivisto in the northern provinces, had found good support elsewhere—except in the Helsinki area, and had cemented his leadership role in his own party. His strong party base and his ability to attract conservatives dissatified with their party's alliance with the socialists, combined with his extensive ministerial experience, made the relatively young Väyrynen Finland's foremost opposition politician. His strong finish, and the lack of any SDP politician of Koivisto's personal stature and popularity, guaranteed Kesk continued significance in the country's political life even when in opposition, and were perhaps signs that the dominance of postindustrial southern Finland over the country as a whole might only be temporary.

President

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Mauno Koivisto Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...	Social Democratic Party 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...	1,513,234	48.9
Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...	Centre Party Centre Party (Finland) The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...	636,375	20.6
Harri Holkeri	National Coalition Party	570,340	18.4
Kalevi Kivistö	Liike 88	330,072	10.7
Jouko Kajanoja	Democratic Alternative Democratic Alternative (Finland) Democratic Alternative was a political party in Finland. Deva was formed in 1986 by expelled members of the Communist Party of Finland and its mass front Finnish People's Democratic League...	44,428	1.4
Invalid/blank votes		63,641	–
Total		3,158,090	100
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Electoral college

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Social Democratic Party 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...	1,175,209	39.4	128
Centre Party Centre Party (Finland) The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...	647,769	21.7	68
National Coalition Party	603,180	20.2	63
Liike 88	286,833	9.6	26
Finnish Rural Party Finnish Rural Party The Finnish Rural Party was a Finnish populist party. Starting out as a breakaway faction of the Agrarian League in 1959, the party was identified with the person of Veikko Vennamo, a former Agrarian League Member of Parliament known for his opposition to the politics of President Urho Kekkonen...	120,043	4.0	7
Pro Koivisto	88,663	3.0	8
Democratic Alternative Democratic Alternative (Finland) Democratic Alternative was a political party in Finland. Deva was formed in 1986 by expelled members of the Communist Party of Finland and its mass front Finnish People's Democratic League...	56,528	1.9	0
Coalition for Åland	7,484	0.3	1
Invalid/blank votes	155,651	–	–
Total	3,141,360	100	300
Source: Nohln & Stöver

Electoral college vote

Candidate	Party	First round		Second round
		Votes	%	Votes	%
Mauno Koivisto Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...	Social Democratic Party 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...	144	48.0	189	63.0
Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party. Väyrynen has held several ministerial portfolios and is also a former Member of the European Parliament.-Career:...	Centre Party Centre Party (Finland) The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...	68	22.7	68	22.7
Harri Holkeri	National Coalition Party	63	21.0	18	6.0
Kalevi Kivistö	Liike 88	26	8.7	26	8.7
Jouko Kajanoja	Democratic Alternative Democratic Alternative (Finland) Democratic Alternative was a political party in Finland. Deva was formed in 1986 by expelled members of the Communist Party of Finland and its mass front Finnish People's Democratic League...	0	0.0	–	–
Total		301	100	301	100
Source: Nohlen & Stöver