1983 Finnish parliamentary election

1983 Finnish parliamentary election

← 1979 20–21 March 1983 1987 →
All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland 101 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kalevi Sorsa Ilkka Suominen Paavo Väyrynen Party SDP National Coalition Centre–Liberal Last election 23.89%, 52 seats 21.65%, 47 seats 20.97%, 40 seats Seats won 57 44 38 Seat change 5 3 2 Popular vote 795,953 659,078 525,207 Percentage 26.71% 22.12% 17.63% Swing 2.82pp 0.47pp 3.37pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Kalevi Kivistö Pekka Vennamo Pär Stenbäck Party SKDL Rural Party RKP Last election 17.90%, 35 seats 4.58%, 7 seats 4.23%, 9 seats Seats won 26 17 10 Seat change 9 10 1 Popular vote 400,930 288,711 137,423 Percentage 13.46% 9.69% 4.61% Swing 4.44pp 5.11pp 0.38pp   Seventh party   Leader Esko Almgren Party Christian League Last election 4.78%, 9 seats Seats won 3 Seat change 6 Popular vote 90,410 Percentage 3.03% Swing 1.75pp
Prime Minister before election Kalevi Sorsa SDP Prime Minister after election Kalevi Sorsa SDP

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Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 20 and 21 March 1983.^[1][2] The elections were widely regarded as a "protest election" because, contrary to expectations, the major parties with the exception of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) performed poorly; the Liberal People's Party (LKP) lost all its seats in the Eduskunta, while the Finnish Rural Party (SMP) more than doubled its seat tally and the Greens won seats for the first time. The SMP's success was credited, at least in part, to voter distaste for some mainstream parties because of political scandals; no significant policy differences emerged in the election campaign. The SDP won 57 seats, the best performance by a party since World War II.