At Stake in this Election: 

• All 200 seats in the Finnish Parliament 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Sauli NIINISTO (since 1 March 2012) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sanna MARIN (since 10 December 2019) 

• Assembly: unicameral parliament (Eduskunta) with 200 seats 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The president may serve up to two 6-year terms. 

• The Prime Minister is appointed by Parliament. 

• 199 members of Parliament are directly elected in single and multi-seat constituencies via proportional representation vote. The remaining member, who represents the autonomous region of Åland, is directly elected by plurality vote. All members serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In the 2019 parliamentary election, no single party won a majority. The top vote-getters were the Social Democratic Party (40 seats), the Finns Party (39), and the National Coalition Party (38). The remaining seats went to the Center Party (31), the Green League (20), the Left Alliance (16), the Swedish People’s Party in Finland (9), and the Christian Democrats (5). Voter turnout was 68.7%. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

Parliament formally approved the Finnish request to join NATO on 1 March 2023, just a month before the expiration of the parliamentary term.  

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 21 February 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: 21 March 2023 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Social Democratic Party of Finland / Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue (SDP) 

• Leader: Sanna MARIN 

• Seats won in last election: 40 out of 200 

• Finns Party / Perussuomalaiset (PS) 

• Leader: Riika PURRA  

• Seats won in last election: 39 out of 200 

• National Coalition Party / Kansallinen Kokoomus (Kok.) 

• Leader: Petteri ORPO 

• Seats won in last election: 38 out of 200

• Center Party / Keskusta  

• Leader: Annika SAARIKKO 

• Seats won in last election: 31 out of 200

• Green League / Vihreä liitto  

• Leader: Maria OHISALO 

• Seats won in last election: 20 out of 200

• Left Alliance / Vasemmistoliitto 

• Leader: Li ANDERSSON 

• Seats won in last election: 16 out of 200

• Swedish People’s Party of Finland / Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP) 

• Leader: Anna-Maja HENRIKSSON 

• Seats won in last election: 9 out of 200

• Christian Democrats / Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (KD) 

• Leader: Sari ESSAYAH 

• Seats won in last election: 5 out of 200

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 5,614,571 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 4,510,040 (2019) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 2,850,036 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 4 September 1986 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 91 out of 200, 45.5% (2022) 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.940, Very High, Rank 11 (2021 est.)  

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 15%, Very Low (2019 est.) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 11 May 2016 

• Projected population with a disability: 718,665 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Finland: No  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 1 judgment & 14 resources