site.btaFinnish Parties Compete for Remaining Two-Thirds of Votes for European Parliament

Finland is electing its representatives to the European Parliament in the upcoming European elections on Sunday, June 9. So far, the country has had 15 MEPs, and after the elections it will have one more.

Over 230 candidates from 14 political formations are competing for the votes of around 4.5 million Finns eligible to vote in the European Parliament elections. This will be the country's seventh European election since it became a member of the European Union in 1995.

Just two days before the European elections, various posters and placards can be seen on the streets of Helsinki, from which the MEP candidates are inviting people to vote for them.

Some residents of the Finnish capital told BTA they had already voted, while others said they intended to do so and pointed out why it was important to go to the polls. Helsinki saw the highest turnout - 32.8% - in the advance vote for the European elections in Finland, which ended on June 4.

It is really important to vote in the European elections because a strong and united EU is needed perhaps more than ever, said Atte Harjanne, MEP candidate and Member of the Finnish Parliament for the Greens.

In the bustling Kamppi shopping district in the centre of Helsinki, a BTA correspondent saw various banners, posters and booths put up by the parties to attract the attention of passers-by to their candidates for the European elections.

Finland has an open, preferential electoral system where voters can vote for any candidate throughout the country. Individuals therefore always play a central role in the parties' election campaigns. This year, however, seven current Finnish MEPs will not be running in the elections, forcing many voters to find a new preferred candidate.

The parties have brought to the fore candidates who are well known in Finnish domestic politics, such as former Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo, as well as Swedish People's Party leader and Education Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson, who is also running for a seat in the European Parliament.

A bigger, richer campaign

Finland's parliamentary parties have now put more money into campaigning than in previous European elections, according to party reports to the Finnish Court of Auditors.

Parliamentary forces will spend over EUR 400,000 more on campaigning this year compared to the 2019 vote.

The National Coalition Party, which polls show will win the elections, has the biggest campaign budget. The party said it will spend a total of EUR 800,000 in the current campaign, while it spent far less - 490,000 - on the 2019 vote.

The Finns Party has the second largest campaign budget for the European elections among Finnish parties – EUR 700,000.

Only the Left Alliance and the Greens have declared smaller budgets than they had in previous EP elections.

Although the actual elections for the new EP in Finland are scheduled for June 9, advance voting in the country has already ended. It took place from May 29 to June 4 and attracted a record 25.4% voter turnout.

In the previous European elections in 2019, some 21% of voters in Finland had gone to the polling stations in advance.

According to Harjanne, a stronger result from the advance vote is unlikely to significantly boost turnout overall.

"The numbers will be back around the results of the previous elections, which is low compared to the national elections," he said.

Eligible voters can cast their ballots in Finnish municipal offices, designated post offices, Finnish embassies abroad, and on board the ferries of Stella Lines.