Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

1994 Finnish presidential election

1994 Finnish presidential election
← 1988 16 January 1994 (first round)
6 February 1994 (second round)		 2000 →
Turnout78.43% (first round)
78.68% (second round)
 
Candidate Martti Ahtisaari Elisabeth Rehn
Party SDP RKP
Popular vote 1,723,485 1,476,294
Percentage 53.86% 46.14%
  Martti Ahtisaari
  Elisabeth Rehn
  Paavo Väyrynen
  Keijo Korhonen
  Martti Ahtisaari
  Elisabeth Rehn
President before election

Mauno Koivisto
SDP

Elected President

Martti Ahtisaari
SDP

Politics of Finland
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Recent elections
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Foreign relations

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 16 January 1994, with a second round on 6 February.[1] It was the first time the President had been solely and directly elected by a popular vote. Martti Ahtisaari defeated Elisabeth Rehn in the second round.[2]

Voter turnout was 78.4% in the first round and 78.7% in the second.[3] This was an open presidential election, because the two-term Finnish President, Mauno Koivisto, had refused to seek a third term. His popularity had also clearly declined since Finland entered into a deep economic recession in 1991.

Martti Ahtisaari, a former primary school teacher and a long-time United Nations diplomat, emerged as the frontrunner after winning the Social Democratic presidential primary in the spring of 1993. Having lived abroad for many years during his diplomatic career, he was at first largely unknown to most Finnish voters. On the other hand, he appeared not to be tainted with political scandals or allegations of opportunism, contrary to some of his opponents, especially the Centre Party presidential candidate, Paavo Väyrynen. This was also the first Finnish presidential election to include a popular female candidate. Elisabeth Rehn, the small Swedish People's Party's presidential candidate, appealed to voters through her reputation as a diligent, caring and sincere woman. She was serving as Defence Minister during the election.

Rehn's popularity rose dramatically in early January 1994, helping her defeat her two major bourgeois rivals, Väyrynen and the National Coalition candidate, Raimo Ilaskivi. Väyrynen bitterly blamed the media for scheming to make his support appear to be falling just before the first round of voting. Some Finns voted tactically for Rehn on the first round to eliminate Väyrynen from the second round. Ahtisaari and Rehn agreed on many issues, such as Finland's intention to become a member of the European Union. They disagreed partly on economic issues, with Ahtisaari favouring more economic stimulation and Rehn viewing increased economic stimulus sceptically. The three-week period between the first and second rounds of voting saw Ahtisaari's support rise significantly, and during the final week of campaigning opinion polls showed him leading Rehn.[4][5][6][7]

Candidates

  • Gallery of announced candidates
  • Martti Ahtisaari
    Martti Ahtisaari
  • Elisabeth Rehn
    Elisabeth Rehn
  • Paavo Väyrynen
    Paavo Väyrynen
  • Raimo Ilaskivi
    Raimo Ilaskivi
  • Keijo Korhonen
    Keijo Korhonen
  • Claes Andersson
    Claes Andersson
  • Pertti Virtanen
    Pertti Virtanen
  • Eeva Kuuskoski
    Eeva Kuuskoski
  • Toimi Kankaanniemi
    Toimi Kankaanniemi

Results

Paavo Lipponen, Eeva and Martti Ahtisaari in the election supervisors
Finland's president Mauno Koivisto with his successor Martti Ahtisaari
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Martti AhtisaariSocial Democratic Party828,03825.911,723,48553.86
Elisabeth RehnSwedish People's Party702,21121.971,476,29446.14
Paavo VäyrynenCentre Party623,41519.51
Raimo IlaskiviNational Coalition Party485,03515.18
Keijo KorhonenIndependent186,9365.85
Claes AnderssonLeft Alliance122,8203.84
Veltto VirtanenIndependent95,6502.99
Eeva KuuskoskiIndependent82,4532.58
Toimi KankaanniemiChristian Democrats31,4530.98
Sulo AittoniemiFinnish Rural Party30,6220.96
Pekka Tiainen [fi]Independent7,3200.23
Total3,195,953100.003,199,779100.00
Valid votes3,195,95399.733,199,77999.53
Invalid/blank votes8,5780.2714,9820.47
Total votes3,204,531100.003,214,761100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,085,62378.434,085,62278.68
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Seppänen[8]

By province

First round

Province Martti Ahtisaari Elisabeth Rehn Paavo Väyrynen Raimo Ilaskivi Keijo Korhonen Claes Andersson Pertti Virtanen Eeva Kuuskoski Toimi Kankaanniemi Sulo Aittoniemi Pekka Tiainen Electorate Votes Valid Invalid
Southern Savonia 30,504 17,135 29,499 14,868 5,772 1,743 2,761 2,769 1,671 1,002 116 135,687 108,155 107,840 315
Northern Savonia 38,037 27,176 44,201 16,950 13,950 5,496 3,843 4,639 1,717 1,495 316 199,494 158,201 157,820 381
North Karelia 31,990 14,250 25,274 13,781 10,025 1,874 2,886 3,415 1,601 1,089 181 136,007 106,645 106,366 279
Kainuu 7,824 4,659 13,857 4,039 24,056 2,501 981 1,105 377 247 161 72,982 59,957 59,807 150
Uusimaa 202,936 243,119 57,044 140,850 26,165 31,382 23,520 17,527 4,592 4,284 1,735 903,287 754,803 753,154 1,649
Eastern Uusimaa 13,177 24,561 5,358 5,706 1,518 1,332 1,344 874 335 314 115 65,497 54,712 54,634 78
Southwest Finland 73,468 56,595 44,454 49,355 13,077 12,212 8,336 10,803 1,864 2,665 950 333,960 274,512 273,779 733
Tavastia Proper 33,321 18,841 15,919 19,729 4,801 3,500 3,631 2,452 1,036 1,376 230 127,679 105,206 104,836 370
Päijänne Tavastia 35,014 26,667 17,546 23,756 6,087 3,992 3,886 2,823 1,533 1,395 278 154,166 123,328 122,977 351
Kymenlaakso 40,345 25,766 19,484 19,627 5,226 2,931 4,432 2,688 1,148 1,204 175 152,635 123,379 123,026 353
South Karelia 27,759 15,972 20,035 13,961 3,964 1,439 2,855 2,085 1,113 836 97 110,687 90,418 90,116 302
Central Finland 46,265 22,417 40,026 17,147 11,120 6,962 5,254 5,049 3,599 1,542 242 197,538 160,106 159,623 483
Southern Ostrobothnia 19,690 12,209 55,281 21,312 7,103 2,396 3,704 2,401 2,055 1,545 185 152,638 128,185 127,881 304
Ostrobothnia 20,403 53,428 15,792 9,506 2,625 3,409 1,925 1,542 1,135 413 143 131,449 110,572 110,321 251
Satakunta 45,678 22,245 31,366 26,590 9,113 8,451 4,744 3,772 1,791 2,085 321 191,434 156,661 156,156 505
Pirkanmaa 75,410 52,243 36,611 50,508 15,933 14,547 11,460 7,260 2,916 5,714 982 333,374 274,420 273,584 836
Central Ostrobothnia 7,941 8,250 17,017 4,045 2,858 1,415 1,278 889 619 585 52 52,894 45,081 44,949 132
Northern Ostrobothnia 43,990 26,725 76,278 19,987 16,637 9,274 5,658 5,984 1,427 1,835 493 252,472 208,853 208,288 565
Lapland 26,543 12,856 54,862 10,177 6,200 7,174 2,806 3,543 674 839 474 151,563 126,563 126,148 415
Åland 1,412 10,459 862 148 49 108 16 80 59 14 6 18,885 13,270 13,213 57
Source: European Election Database Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine

Second round

Province Martti Ahtisaari Elisabeth Rehn Electorate Votes Valid Invalid
Southern Savonia 56,904 50,551 135,687 107,966 107,455 511
Northern Savonia 85,218 72,608 199,494 158,527 157,826 701
North Karelia 61,239 45,910 136,007 107,648 107,149 499
Kainuu 31,190 24,944 72,982 56,521 56,134 387
Uusimaa 405,872 350,232 903,287 759,479 756,104 3,375
Eastern Uusimaa 24,445 30,795 65,497 55,409 55,240 169
Southwest Finland 156,749 118,022 333,960 276,025 274,771 1,254
Tavastia Proper 61,193 44,596 127,679 106,316 105,789 527
Päijänne Tavastia 71,546 52,574 154,166 124,720 124,120 600
Kymenlaakso 74,898 50,008 152,635 125,440 124,906 534
South Karelia 50,667 39,902 110,687 91,008 90,569 439
Central Finland 93,637 65,665 197,538 160,106 159,302 804
Southern Ostrobothnia 46,706 76,407 152,638 123,899 123,113 786
Ostrobothnia 41,265 71,028 131,449 112,656 112,293 363
Satakunta 94,844 62,493 191,434 158,070 157,337 733
Pirkanmaa 164,619 109,400 333,374 275,349 274,019 1,330
Central Ostrobothnia 18,144 25,977 52,894 44,332 44,121 211
Northern Ostrobothnia 104,482 101,687 252,472 207,109 206,169 940
Lapland 67,196 55,695 151,563 123,570 122,891 679
Åland 2,531 11,450 18,884 14,028 13,981 47
Source: European Election Database Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p606 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Arter, David (1994). "The 1994 Finnish presidential election: Honesty was not the best policy!". West European Politics. 17 (4): 190–192. doi:10.1080/01402389408425049. ISSN 0140-2382.
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p632
  4. ^ Timo Vihavainen, "The Welfare Finland" (Hyvinvointi-Suomi), pgs. 902-903 in Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen. Helsinki: WSOY, 2003
  5. ^ Olavi Jouslehto&Jaakko Okker, From Tamminiemi To Mäntyniemi (Tamminiemestä Mäntyniemeen), pgs. 140-155. Porvoo: WSOY, 2000
  6. ^ Tapani Ruokanen, On a Journey: Martti Ahtisaari's Story / Matkalla. Martti Ahtisaaren tarina. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 2009, pgs. 182-191, 197-200, 204-205, 247-256
  7. ^ What-Where-When: A Citizen's Yearbook (Mitä-Missä-Milloin - Kansalaisen vuosikirja) 1994 and 1995. Helsinki: Otava Ltd., 1993 and 1994
  8. ^ Seppänen, Timo. "Eduskunnan kynnys on korkea pienpuolueille". Yle. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Finnish_presidential_election