Centenary of women's political rights in Finland
Introduction to electoral statistics
Saara Tuomaala
The principle of universal and equal suffrage was adopted in Finland in 1906. Women took part in the first national elections on 15-16 March 1907 both as voters and as candidates. Because of the political circumstances at the time, the principle of universal and equal suffrage and the right to stand for election did not apply to municipal elections until 1917 although a decision on the municipal voting reform had been made as early as 1908. Until 1982, Finns elected their president by an indirect electoral process in which the president was elected by an electoral college.
Voter turnout in Finnish elections has fluctuated over the years both among the entire electorate and, more specifically, among men and women. More men than women exercised their right to vote in parliamentary elections until 1927 and in municipal elections until 1945. In the early part of the 20 th century, voter turnout was lower than at present, but as of the 1930s, voter turnout increased among both men and women. From the 1970s to the elections in 1999, voter turnout once again declined. Since the end of the 1980s, voter turnout has been consistently higher among women than men. This increasing political activism among women has not, however, translated into electoral success for women candidates.
Our web pages on electoral statistics contain links to electoral statistics relating to Finnish and other women. The website of Statistics Finland provides information about the results of various national elections and also contains related articles. The international statistics for which we provide links relate to the development of equal opportunities and to women’s political participation across the world. These statistics also demonstrate the shortcomings in the equal and democratic exercise of power and reflect the higher profile given to equality politics since the 1990s.
The following tools can be used to assess gender equality in international decision-making: 1) statistical indicators that reflect the achievement of equality and women’s representation in political bodies; 2) the gender-based distribution of political positions and duties both nationally and locally; 3) the interpretation of various material pertaining to elections and the related assessment of quantitative statistical data reflecting the achievement of equality.
An election poster from the 1930s. Finnish National Archives.
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