Finland’s opposition National Coalition Party emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to the preliminary result reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle.
After counting all votes for the election, the National Coalition Party won 48 seats in parliament, an increase of ten from four years ago, followed by the Finns Party with 46 seats, an increase of seven. The Social Democratic Party, the leading party in the current Finnish coalition chaired by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, won 43 seats, an increase of 3.
Voter turnout was 71.9 percent, slightly less than in 2019.
Commenting on the result, National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo said this was an important win for the party, and he was confident that the formation of the new government would begin under his leadership.
Marin congratulated on the National Coalition Party’s and Finns Party’s election results, and said that she was also satisfied with the performance of her party.
In a major change, medium-sized parties suffered losses: the Center Party lost eight seats, the Greens lost seven, and the Left Alliance party lost five.
Orpo did not reveal the possible composition of the upcoming ruling coalition, but said that the new government’s priority would be to fix the country’s economy.
The election campaigns focused mainly on economic and welfare issues. The National Coalition Party, in particular, underlined the need to balance the state budget and reduce the need for new debt.
Commentators noted that the formation talks of a coalition government could take some time as the combined seats of the two right-wing parties, the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party, still fell short of a parliamentary majority and would require support from other smaller parties.
The election result will be officially confirmed on Wednesday, and the new parliament will commence work next week. ■
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, also chairman of the Social Democratic Party, attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, April 2, 2023. Finland’s opposition National Coalition Party emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to the preliminary result reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle. (Xinhua/Chen Jing)
