1987 Finnish parliamentary election

1987 Finnish parliamentary election

← 1983 15–16 March 1987 1991 →

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
Last election 26.71%, 57 seats 22.12%, 44 seats 17.63%, 38 seats
Seats won 56 53 40
Seat change Decrease 1 Increase 9 Increase 2
Popular vote 695,331 666,236 507,460
Percentage 24.14% 23.13% 17.62%
Swing Decrease 2.57pp Increase 1.01pp Decrease 0.01pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Esko Helle Christoffer Taxell Pekka Vennamo
Party SKDL RKP Rural Party
Last election 13.46%, 26 seats 4.61%, 10 seats 9.69%, 17 seats
Seats won 16 12 9
Seat change Decrease 10 Increase 2 Decrease 8
Popular vote 270,433 152,597 181,938
Percentage 9.39% 5.30% 6.32%
Swing Decrease 4.07pp Increase 0.69pp Decrease 3.37pp

  Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party
 
Leader Esko Almgren Kristiina Halkola Kalle Könkkölä
Party Christian League Democratic Alternative Green
Last election 3.03%, 3 seats 1.47%, 2 seats
Seats won 5 4 4
Seat change Increase 2 New Increase 2
Popular vote 74,209 122,181 115,988
Percentage 2.58% 4.24% 4.03%
Swing Decrease 0.45pp New Increase 2.56pp

Prime Minister before election

Kalevi Sorsa
SDP

Prime Minister after election

Harri Holkeri
National Coalition

Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 15 and 16 March 1987.[1]

The results saw a rightwards shift in Finnish politics, although it was uncertain how far, because the voter turnout — at a comparatively low 75% — hurt the left more than the right and had a variable impact. The centre-right National Coalition Party (KOK) increased its vote share by only 1% yet gained nine seats in the Eduskunta, almost overtaking the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the largest party. The SDP vote share dropped by 3%, with 100,000 fewer votes, yet they lost only one seat due to the way their votes were distributed across the country. The Centre Party's vote share remained stable and it gained two new seats. The Greens, who had registered a significant gain in the 1984 municipal elections gained two seats, far fewer than expected. Weakened perhaps from its membership in the long-lived government, the Finnish Rural Party (SMP) lost more than one-third of its support and almost half of its seats.

  1. ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7