Månsson FST

Finnish time (GMT plus 3)

20.00 Finland’s polling stations close. Results of votes from advanced voting announced. SFP predicted to lose its European parliament seat. Kokoomus, Centre party and SDP all to win 3 seats. That’s minus 1 for Kok and Centre.

20.04 Important to note that Swedish-speaking Finns and SFP voters in particular often leave voting until the actual election day.

20.28 11 of the 20 most active turnouts in Finland in Åland municipalities. Britt Lundberg effect?

20.30 Lundberg from Åland currently in 4th place amongst top SFP candidates.

20.31 40,9% of votes counted. Ca 54 000 votes for True Finns leader Timo Soini. Currently the most personal votes.

20.33 Leading SFP candidate is in 16th place currently (of 13 Finnish EU parliament seats), it is Björn Månsson.

20.39 SFP just now looks like it could hold a seat, Björn Månsson has moved up to 13 place. 44,2% votes counted.

20.40 Finlands Svenska Televisions hockey commentator Kaj Kunnas is charged with delivering the vote results in FST’s election results programme. Beginning to think that he should perhaps stick to sport!

20.47 Outgoing SFP-European parliament member Henrik Lax being interviewed on FST. Repeats that it is vital that Finland is seen and heard in both languages in Brussels. A good example in a Europe full of language minorities, but where few have the same level of rights as in Finland. Vital that Swedish-speakers in Finland can turn to someone in Brussels without the risk of being misunderstood.

20.48 Possibility that Left Alliance fall out of the European parliament. SFP overtake them at 46% of vote counted.

20.51 Soini (True Finns), Jääteenmäki (Centre, former PM), Mitro (SDP, orthodox priest), Itälä (Kokoomus, national coaltion party, former party leader) top 4 candidates in personal votes currently. Månsson and Haglund in 27 and 28 place.

20.55 Risto Penttilä of True Finns interviewed on FST in one of this year’s most pointless interviews, as he can barely string a sentence together in Swedish. Calls SFP a racist party.

20.57 SFP currently up 1,1% on the result from the last EU election in 2004 with 6,8%. 55% of votes counted.

21.02 Carl Haglund has passed Björn Månsson. 111 votes between them. With things just now, Haglund would be SFP’s representative in the EU parliament.

21.03 Social Democrats and especially Left Alliance both significantly back. Interesting in times of economic problems. All established parties backwards with exception with SFP. True Finns taken many votes off established parties. Christian Democrats also forward.

21.06 Stefan Wallin, chairman of SFP, being interviewed on FST5. Still cautious. Will see final results. Björn Månsson also interviewed. Stresses an SFP mandate is more important than who take its.

21.08 Many votes in Korsholm, Borgå, Sibbo, Raseborg not yet counted. Could possibly favour Månsson. Stefan Wallin would be surprised if SFP stayed on 6,8%. Expects figure to shrink during the night as more Finnish-speaking areas report their results. Wallin notes that if SFP wins a mandate, it will be a very very good result with regard to fact Finland has one less MEP seat and that last time SFP was in a voting alliance (this time it is alone).

21.09 Nils Torvalds and Bo Linde also close behind Haglund and Månsson in personal votes on SFP’s list.

21.10 Yle says SFP likely to take 12th mandate, which would be an excellent result.

21.15 Interview with Christian Democrats on FST. Chairman of Swedish-speaking district of Christian Democrats admits it was very difficult to explain to Swedish-speakers the Christian Democrat’s election alliance with the True Finns. The party chairman Päivi Räisänen explains it is just a technical alliance when asked what the two parties have in common.

21.18 Nils Torvalds has overtaken Björn Månsson in the SFP’s candidates popularity.

21.19 Swedish-speaking and bilingual municipalities amongst the municipalities with the highest turnouts. Almost all over 50%. National figure only barely 40%.

21.22 73% of total votes counted in Finland – current status: Kokoomus 3 seats, Centre 3 seats, SDP 3 seats, Greens 1 seat, True Finns 1 seat, SFP Swedish People’s Party 1 seat, Left Alliance 1 seat, Christian Democrats 1 seat.

21.28 Thirteenth and last seat would currently go to Annika Lapintie of Left Alliance who is from a bilingual home. Possibility of two Swedish-speaking Finns in European Parliament.

21.36 SDP could lose one seat and be down to 2 MEPs. 80,2% of total votes counted. All three major parties losing one seat just now.

21.39 Yle says seats 12-16 are still uncertain as so many votes are uncounted in especially Helsinki. SFP’s position is still not secure.

22.00 FST: Alexander Stubb (kok), foreign minister and candidate in the last election, says it is possible that some of his previous Swedish-speaking voters turned to SFP in this election. SFP chairman Stefan Wallin, alongside him, says that one must also note that Bjarne Kallis (Christian Democrat, former party leader) is also not standing this time. Another possible source of Swedish votes.

22.05 Voting in neighbouring Sweden has ended (at 21.00 Stockholm time). Sveriges Television predicts that the Pirate Party will win 7,4% of votes in Sweden’s election to the EU parliament.

22.06 Yle reports that Left Alliance will fall out of EU parliament and that instead the Greens will take a second seat in EU parliament. Greens strong in Helsinki, where there are still significant votes to be counted.

22.08 Timo Soini received 24 votes on Åland! Åland Centre party candidate Britt Lundberg, representing all of the non-socialist Åland parties and standing on SFP’s list, received 7690 of the 9960 votes on Åland. (Hufvudstadsbladet)

22.10 So close between candidates at back of list that it is possible a second count will be required to get the actual result.

22.17 Likely that SFP will fall to 13th place and take the last Finnish seat in the EU election. Greens will overtake the 12th. SFP’s position still not secure according to Yle, if SDP or Left Alliance has many votes amongst those uncounted in Helsinki.

22.22 SFP near to receiving 100 000 votes. An increase of nearly 5000 votes on the previous election despite a lower voting turnout. 97,7% votes counted in the whole country.

22.25 SDP chair Jutta Urpilainen says she is disappointed with the election result. SDP had a goal of keeping 3 seats, and are losing ones.

22.27 Carl Haglund being interviewed on telephone on FST.  Cautious, will wait for full result before he comments result.

22.29 FST showing loud, party scenes at SFP Swedish People’s Party’s election results party. Crowd shouting ‘Calle, Calle’ Calle’. Carl ‘Calle’ Haglund has not yet arrived.

22.31 99,1% votes counted. On FST,  Stefan Wallin says it feels good. Party secretary Ulla Achrén (SFP) thanks voters.

22.33 99,5% Haglund as good as certain to take 13th of Finland’s 13 MEP seats.

22.37 99,7% of votes counted. What seems to be the final result. Elected members to the European parliament (from Yle):
1. Ville Itälä Saml. (Kok, National Coalition) 65 830 384 826,000 Åbo vald – (elected) 65 439
2. Anneli Jäätteenmäki C (Centre) 79 931 316 337,000 Helsingfors vald 149 646
3. Mitro Repo SDP (Social Democrats) 71 419 290 838,000 Helsingfors vald -
4. Timo Soini Sannf. (True Finns) 130 205 231 661,000 Esbo vald -
5. Heidi Hautala Gröna (Greens) 58 652 205 448,000 Helsingfors vald -
6. Sirpa Pietikäinen Saml. 51 372 192 413,000 Tavastehus vald 30 042
7. Hannu Takkula C 39 288 158 168,500 Rovaniemi vald 32 739
8. Liisa Jaakonsaari SDP 45 258 145 419,000 Uleåborg vald -
9. Eija-Riitta Korhola Saml. 51 086 128 275,333 Helsingfors vald 35 285
10. Sari Essayah KD (Christian Democrats) 53 616 115 830,500 Pemar vald -
11. Riikka Manner C 37 294 105 445,667 Varkaus vald -
12. Satu Hassi Gröna 56 769 102 724,000 Tammerfors vald 74 714
13. Carl Haglund SFP (Swedish People’s Party) 16 780 101 169,000 Esbo vald -

Overall, so far, Swedish People’s Party took 6,1% of the vote, receiving 101 203 votes. 40,3% of the electorate turned out.

22.43 That’s the end of this live blog from the results of the Finnish election to the EU parliament, in which a Swedish-speaking mandate was preserved. Carl Haglund will respresent the Swedish People’s Party SFP in Brussels during the next EU parliamentary period.

Image: YLE FST5 Election results programme. SFP candidate Björn Månsson being interviewed.

About these ads