1917 Finnish parliamentary election
Appearance
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All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland 101 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held in the
absolute majority
that they had had in the previous two elections (although they, like the other parties, had increased their number of votes in absolute terms). In other words, the "bourgeois" (non-socialist) parties taken together now had more than half the seats.
Background
The elections were the result of the
abdicated without a successor, the Finnish Parliament stated that it would become the highest power in internal matters. The Russian Provisional Government
did not accept this, but ordered premature parliamentary elections, which was thought illegal by the Socialists.
Campaign
The Social Democrats demanded the quick implementation of eight-hour work day and the quick freeing of tenant farmers. The bourgeois parties, on average, wanted first to ensure that Finland would become fully independent, and only then to implement such social and economic reforms.[1][2]
Results
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Social Democratic Party | 444,670 | 44.79 | 92 | –11 | |
Finnish Party–Young Finnish Party–People's Party | 299,516 | 30.17 | 61 | +5 | |
Agrarian League | 122,900 | 12.38 | 26 | +7 | |
Swedish People's Party | 108,190 | 10.90 | 21 | 0 | |
Christian Workers' Union | 15,489 | 1.56 | 0 | –1 | |
Others | 1,997 | 0.20 | 0 | – | |
Total | 992,762 | 100.00 | 200 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 992,762 | 99.51 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 4,903 | 0.49 | |||
Total votes | 997,665 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 1,441,075 | 69.23 | |||
Source: Mackie & Rose[3] |