Social Democrats party wins general elections in Finland

Helsinki, April 15: Finland's leftist Social Democrats have recorded a razor-thin victory in Sunday’s general elections, holding off the far-right Finns Party. With 100 per cent of ballots counted, the Social Democrats, led by Antti Rinne, bagged 40 seats in the 200-member Parliament, while the Finns Party picked up 39 seats. The National Coalition Party claimed 38 seats, with the ruling Centre Party winning 31 seats. The remaining seats were won by other parties.

 

Outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipila said, his Centre party was the election's biggest loser, blaming the difficult economic decisions his administration made in an attempt to rebalance the economy. The Social Democrats will head a government for the first time in 16 years, though it has been a junior coalition member since then.

All centre-left and left-wing parties saw an increase in their vote, with the Green League coming in fifth with 11.5% of the vote, followed by the Left Alliance at 8.2%.

Between them, the three left-leaning parties should return 76 lawmakers, according to Italehti's estimates, short of a majority in Finland's 200-seat parliament, meaning a governing coalition will likely have to include one of the main centrist parties.

SDP Chairman Antti Rinne, as leader of the largest party, will have first shot at forming a government, and at becoming the first left-wing prime minister in Finland since 2003.

In a speech Sunday, former union boss Rinne thanked party members for their hard campaign work.

"For the first time since 1999, we are the largest party in Finland. SDP is the prime minister's party," he told supporters in central Helsinki.