Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 2 April 2023 to elect members of the Parliament of Finland.
Following the 2019 election, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed a governing coalition with the Centre Party, Greens, Left Alliance, and the Swedish People's Party, with Antti Rinne serving as the prime minister of Finland. Later that year, Rinne was involved in a political scandal regarding the Finnish postal service, after which he resigned and was succeeded by Sanna Marin. Marin's government focused on issues regarding climate change, while her government also faced the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion prompted her to announce that Finland would submit its candidacy to join NATO, which it did in May 2022.
Issues regarding the economy, the budget deficit, climate change, and education were discussed during the campaign period. The election programs or the opposition National Coalition Party (NCP) and Finns Party (Finns) called for budget cuts and austerity to balance the budget, while the SDP's election program focused on economic growth through investments in employment and education. Marin supported more education and public health spending, while the NCP called for balancing the budget, reducing spending on unemployment and housing benefits, and constructing more nuclear plants. The Finns campaigned on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union platform, while the Greens focused on issues regarding mental health and universal basic income. The Centre Party campaigned on regional politics.
The National Coalition Party won the election with 20.8% of the national popular vote, winning 48 seats in parliament, the third-highest result in the party's history. The Finns Party came in a close second place with the ruling Social Democratic Party of Finland under Prime Minister Marin in third place. The National Coalition Party then formed a coalition with the Finns Party, the Swedish People's Party, and the Christian Democrats, with Petteri Orpo as prime minister. For the first time in Finland's history, the Centre Party did not win a plurality of votes in any regional voting districts. Five government parties and four opposition parties finished with parliamentary seats split at 100–100. This was the first time since 1983 that the top-three finishing parties did not lose a percentage share of votes.
Background
The previous parliamentary election, held in April 2019, saw the Social Democratic Party place first, winning 17.7% of the popular vote, followed by the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party, who won 17.5% and 17% of the popular vote, respectively. The Centre Party of the outgoing prime minister Juha Sipilä placed fourth, winning 13.8% of the popular vote, while the Green League and the Left Alliance received more votes than in the preceding election. In June 2019, after several months of negotiations, the SDP, led by Rinne, formed a government, bringing the Centre Party, Green League, Left Alliance, and the Swedish People's Party into the government.
In late 2019, a political scandal regarding the Finnish postal service broke out. Sirpa Paatero, the minister of local government and ownership steering, was accused of being aware of, and hiding from members of the Parliament of Finland, the postal service's project to change the status of a large number of its workers to a lower-paying contract. Paatero resigned in November 2019, after which Rinne was also accused of knowing of the postal service's plan. The Centre Party then left the government, which led Rinne to announce his resignation as prime minister and leader of the SDP in December 2019. He was succeeded by Sanna Marin, who, at 34, became the world's youngest serving prime minister after being sworn into office in December 2019.
The Marin Cabinet announced they would combat climate change, protect the environment, and reduce social and economic inequalities. Her government also adopted a program that would aim to make Finland carbon-neutral by 2035, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the production of renewable energy. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland, Marin's management of the pandemic benefited her party, which caused her to rise in opinion polls, with her personal favourable opinion rating reaching 85%. The SDP was surpassed by the Finns Party in opinion polls after April 2021, with the National Coalition Party becoming the most popular by July 2021.
Following the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Marin took a firm line against Russia and Vladimir Putin, breaking Finland's historical military neutrality by announcing Finland's NATO candidacy. Finland officially submitted its candidacy in May 2022. Its path to join NATO was formalized in March 2023, when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, formally signed and approved the decision to ratify Finland's NATO membership. Turkey was the last NATO member to ratify the decision.
Electoral system
The 200 members of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta, Riksdagen) were elected using open list, proportional representation in 13 multi-member electoral districts, with seats allocated according to the D'Hondt method. The number of elected representatives is proportional to the population in the district six months prior to the elections. Åland has a single-member electoral district and its own party system. Every citizen who is at least 18 years old has the right to vote. Voters also had the option to vote either during the advance voting period, from March 22 to 28 March 2023, or on election day.
+ Seats by electoral district Electoral district Seats 01 Helsinki 23 02 Uusimaa 37 03 Varsinais-Suomi 17 04 Satakunta 8 05 Åland 1 06 Häme 14 07 Pirkanmaa 20 08 Southeast Finland 15 09 Savo-Karelia 15 10 Vaasa 16 11 Central Finland 10 12 Oulu 18 13 Lapland 6
Pre-election composition Government Seats Social Democratic Party of Finland 40 Centre Party 31 Green League 20 Left Alliance 16 Swedish People's Party of Finland 10 Opposition Seats Finns Party 39 National Coalition Party 37 Christian Democrats 5 Movement Now 1 Power Belongs to the People 1 Source: Parliament of Finland
Contesting parties
The table below lists parties and independent candidates that contested the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election. The Election Information and Results Service announced that 2,424 candidates in total registered to take part in the election.
+ Overview of contesting parties in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election Party Ideology Candidates by electoral district Helsinki Uusimaa Varsinais-Suomi Satakunta Åland Häme Pirkanmaa South-East Finland Savo-Karelia Vaasa Central Finland Oulu Lapland Total 293 485 214 124 15 144 239 158 156 161 146 177 112 2424 Social Democratic Party Social democracy 23 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 18 14 217 Finns Party Right-wing populism 23 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 18 14 217 Green League Green liberalism 23 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 18 14 217 Left Alliance Democratic socialism 23 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 18 14 217 National Coalition Liberal conservatism 23 37 17 14 14 19 14 15 16 14 18 11 212 Centre Party Agrarianism 11 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 18 14 205 Christian Democrats Christian democracy 8 37 17 14 14 20 15 15 16 14 15 3 188 Movement Now Economic liberalism 23 37 17 10 14 20 15 13 10 5 11 2 177 Freedom Alliance National conservatism 16 32 15 9 7 11 10 10 10 8 11 4 143 Swedish People's Party of Finland Swedish-speaking minority interestsliberalism 23 37 17 3 5 1 1 2 16 1 4 1 111 Power Belongs to the People Russophilia 10 25 11 2 7 4 9 8 5 14 8 4 107 Liberal Party – Freedom to Choose Classical liberalism 23 21 11 5 12 4 5 4 6 2 93 Blue-and-Black Movement Neo-fascism 37 17 20 14 88 Communist Party of Finland Communism 14 13 2 1 9 6 5 1 4 4 6 65 Pirate Party Pirate politics 20 5 1 1 5 4 1 37 Crystal Party Vaccine hesitancy 5 3 1 2 3 4 2 2 1 5 28 Animal Justice Party of Finland Animal rights 4 4 3 1 7 1 20 Finnish Reform Movement National conservatism 4 4 5 3 16 Feminist Party Feminism 6 4 3 13 Finnish People First Finnish nationalism 2 1 1 3 1 2 10 The Open Party E-democracy 8 1 9 Lapland's Non-Aligned Joint List Regionalism 8 8 Non-aligned Coalition Conservatism 4 4 Welfare and Equality Social democracy 4 4 Sustainable Initiative Green politics 4 4 Citizens' Union Euroscepticism 1 1 1 3 For Åland Regionalism 3 3 Independent candidates – 1 2 1 3 1 8
Campaign
Issues
Yle cited government borrowing, sustainability of public finances, climate change, and educational decline as main issues during the electoral campaign. Paul Kirby of BBC News noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had "little campaign impact", and added that the campaign was instead concentrated on issues regarding the economy. Deutsche Welle cited a shortage of workers as a key issue, while the Associated Press mentioned that issues regarding the economy, climate change, education, and social benefits were discussed during the campaign. Markku Jokisipilä, an assistant professor at the University of Turku, said that in the debates, Marin has "stood out vigorously". He added that the Finns Party had the strongest social media presence. Teivo Teivainen, a professor at the University of Helsinki, said that opponents of the SDP see the main problem as public spending. News agencies described the election as a close race between the SDP, National Coalition Party, and the Finns Party. Jenni Karimäki, a political historian, who works at the University of Helsinki, said that "nobody can know what order the three leading parties will finish in on Sunday."
The Finns Party, which campaigned on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union (EU) platform, cited as their priority cutting immigration from non-EU countries. Petteri Orpo, the leader of the National Coalition Party, campaigned on reducing spending on unemployment and housing benefits. While campaigning, Orpo stated his support for economic growth, balancing the public economy, "building up NATO-Finland", and constructing more nuclear plants. Riikka Purra, the leader of the Finns Party, called for austerity, and said that "we also want to tighten up our attitude towards the European Union." She added that the Finns Party would delay the carbon neutrality target that was introduced by Marin's government. The National Coalition Party agreed with Marin's position on carbon neutrality. Marin remained critical of right-wing parties, saying that they offered "an alternative that makes life miserable for all of us, cuts services, cuts livelihoods for the poorest"; she had also stated her support for education and public health spending, saying that it would help Finland to avoid borrowing. The Green League's campaign was focused on mental health services and universal basic income. The Centre Party campaigned on regional politics.
Slogans + Slogans of parliamentary parties during the campaign period Party/coalition Original slogan English translation Refs Centre Party Eteenpäin!Vastuuta koko Suomesta Forwards!Responsibility for the whole Finland Christian Democrats Järjen ääniSuomeen suunnanmuutos The voice of reasonChange of course for Finland Finns Party Pelasta Suomi! Save Finland! Green League Suojele elämää Protect life Left Alliance Reilumpi huominen kaikille, ei harvoille A fairer tomorrow for everyone, not just for the few! Movement Now Uskalla olla erilainen Dare to be different National Coalition Nyt on oikea aika Now is the right time Power Belongs to the People Täysivaltaista tasavaltaa jälleenrakentamassa Rebuilding a sovereign republic Social Democratic Party Rohkeutta olla sinun puolellasi Courage to be on your side Swedish People's Party of Finland Yhdessä eteenpäin(Swedish: Framåt tillsammans) Moving forward together
Debates