Presidential elections were held in Finland in 1988.[1] They were the first elections held under a new system. Previously, the public had elected an electoral college that in turn elected the President. For this election, the public directly elected the President on 31 January and 1 February, but also elected an electoral college that would elect the President if no candidate won over 50% of the popular vote.[2] The college was increased in size from 300 to 301 seats to make a tie less likely, though this was still technically possible, as electors could abstain from voting.[2]
The contest's outcome, the re-election of Mauno Koivisto, surprised no one, yet he captured a smaller portion of the direct popular vote than expected—only 48.9 percent,[3] rather than the 60 to 70 percent forecast by opinion polls during 1987. His failure to win more than half of the direct, or popular, vote with an 84 percent turnout meant that Koivisto could claim victory only after he had the support of a majority of the 301-member electoral college. This he achieved on the body's second ballot, when the votes of 45 of the 63 electors pledged to the National Coalition Party (KOK) candidate, Prime Minister Harri Holkeri, were added to those of the 144 electors he had won on his own. Koivisto's inability to win the presidency directly was caused by an upsurge of support in the final weeks of the campaign for his stronger rivals, Centre Party's Paavo Väyrynen and the KOK's Holkeri—who got 20.1 and 18.1 percent of the vote respectively, and Kalevi Kivistö, the candidate of voters linked to the Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL) and the Greens, who got 10.4 percent. The strong finish of Väyrynen and Kivistö was regarded by some as a vote against the KOK-SDP coalition formed after the March 1987 parliamentary election.
The campaign did not center, to any significant degree, on issues, but on the candidates themselves; Väyrynen and Holkeri both clearly wanted to position themselves well for the presidential election of 1994. Neither had any hope of defeating the ever-popular Koivisto in 1988, and it was widely assumed that he would not seek re-election again in 1994. Väyrynen was seen as the winner of this race for position, in that he had come from far behind in the polls, had easily beaten Koivisto in the northern provinces, had found good support elsewhere—except in the Helsinki area, and had cemented his leadership role in his own party. His strong party base and his ability to attract conservatives dissatisfied with their party's alliance with the socialists, combined with his extensive ministerial experience, made the relatively young Väyrynen Finland's foremost opposition politician. His strong finish, and the lack of any SDP politician of Koivisto's personal stature and popularity, guaranteed the Centre Party's continued significance in the country's political life even when in opposition, and were perhaps signs that the dominance of postindustrial southern Finland over the country as a whole might only be temporary.[4]
Resultsedit
Popular voteedit
Presidentedit
After the Finnish presidential election in the same year President Mauno Koivisto and President Ronald Reagan meeting in Helsinki
^Presidentin vaalit 1988. Suomen virallinen tilasto (Tilastokeskus 1988), s. 30–33.
^Text from PD source: US Library of Congress: A Country Study: Finland, Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990.
^"Presidentin vaalit Presidentvalet Presidential election 1988" (PDF). doria.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
April 10, 2024
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Presidential elections were held in Finland in 1988 1 They were the first elections held under a new system Previously the public had elected an electoral college that in turn elected the President For this election the public directly elected the President on 31 January and 1 February but also elected an electoral college that would elect the President if no candidate won over 50 of the popular vote 2 The college was increased in size from 300 to 301 seats to make a tie less likely though this was still technically possible as electors could abstain from voting 2 1988 Finnish presidential election 1982 31 January 1 February 1988 1994 Candidate Mauno Koivisto Paavo VayrynenParty SDP CentreElectoral vote 189 68Popular vote 1 513 234 Pres 1 391 399 EC 636 375 Pres 647 769 EC Candidate Harri Holkeri Kalevi KivistoParty National Coalition Movement 88Electoral vote 18 26Popular vote 570 340 Pres 603 180 EC 330 072 Pres 286 833 EC Presidential electors chosen by constituencyPresident before electionMauno KoivistoSDP Elected President Mauno KoivistoSDPThe contest s outcome the re election of Mauno Koivisto surprised no one yet he captured a smaller portion of the direct popular vote than expected only 48 9 percent 3 rather than the 60 to 70 percent forecast by opinion polls during 1987 His failure to win more than half of the direct or popular vote with an 84 percent turnout meant that Koivisto could claim victory only after he had the support of a majority of the 301 member electoral college This he achieved on the body s second ballot when the votes of 45 of the 63 electors pledged to the National Coalition Party KOK candidate Prime Minister Harri Holkeri were added to those of the 144 electors he had won on his own Koivisto s inability to win the presidency directly was caused by an upsurge of support in the final weeks of the campaign for his stronger rivals Centre Party s Paavo Vayrynen and the KOK s Holkeri who got 20 1 and 18 1 percent of the vote respectively and Kalevi Kivisto the candidate of voters linked to the Finnish People s Democratic League SKDL and the Greens who got 10 4 percent The strong finish of Vayrynen and Kivisto was regarded by some as a vote against the KOK SDP coalition formed after the March 1987 parliamentary election Contents 1 Campaign 2 Results 2 1 Popular vote 2 1 1 President 2 1 2 Electoral college 2 2 Electoral college vote 3 ReferencesCampaign editThe campaign did not center to any significant degree on issues but on the candidates themselves Vayrynen and Holkeri both clearly wanted to position themselves well for the presidential election of 1994 Neither had any hope of defeating the ever popular Koivisto in 1988 and it was widely assumed that he would not seek re election again in 1994 Vayrynen was seen as the winner of this race for position in that he had come from far behind in the polls had easily beaten Koivisto in the northern provinces had found good support elsewhere except in the Helsinki area and had cemented his leadership role in his own party His strong party base and his ability to attract conservatives dissatisfied with their party s alliance with the socialists combined with his extensive ministerial experience made the relatively young Vayrynen Finland s foremost opposition politician His strong finish and the lack of any SDP politician of Koivisto s personal stature and popularity guaranteed the Centre Party s continued significance in the country s political life even when in opposition and were perhaps signs that the dominance of postindustrial southern Finland over the country as a whole might only be temporary 4 Results editPopular vote edit President edit nbsp After the Finnish presidential election in the same year President Mauno Koivisto and President Ronald Reagan meeting in HelsinkiCandidatePartyVotes Mauno KoivistoSocial Democratic Party1 513 23448 90Paavo VayrynenCentre Party636 37520 57Harri HolkeriNational Coalition Party570 34018 43Kalevi KivistoMovement 88330 07210 67Jouko KajanojaDemocratic Alternative44 4281 44Total3 094 449100 00Valid votes3 094 44997 98Invalid blank votes63 6412 02Total votes3 158 090100 00Registered voters turnout4 036 16978 24Source Nohlen amp StoverElectoral college edit Party or allianceVotes SeatsSupporters of Mauno KoivistoSocial Democratic Party1 175 20939 36128Finnish Rural Party120 0434 027Pro Koivisto88 6632 978Aland Coalition7 4840 251Total1 391 39946 60144Centre Party647 76921 7068National Coalition Party603 18020 2063Movement 88286 8339 6126Democratic Alternative56 5281 890Total2 985 709100 00301Valid votes2 985 70995 05Invalid blank votes155 6514 95Total votes3 141 360100 00Registered voters turnout4 036 16977 83Source Nohlen amp Stover Tilastokeskus 5 Electoral college vote edit CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond roundVotes Votes Mauno KoivistoSocial Democratic Party14447 8418962 79Paavo VayrynenCentre Party6822 596822 59Harri HolkeriNational Coalition Party6320 93185 98Kalevi KivistoMovement 88268 64268 64Jouko KajanojaDemocratic Alternative00 00Total301100 00301100 00Source Nohlen amp StoverReferences edit Dieter Nohlen amp Philip Stover 2010 Elections in Europe A data handbook p606 ISBN 978 3 8329 5609 7 a b Nohlen amp Stover p598 Presidentin vaalit 1988 Suomen virallinen tilasto Tilastokeskus 1988 s 30 33 Text from PD source US Library of Congress A Country Study Finland Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 A74 1990 Presidentin vaalit Presidentvalet Presidential election 1988 PDF doria fi in Finnish Retrieved 6 August 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1988 Finnish presidential election amp oldid 1209321024, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
