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Home NATIONALKokoomus, Keskusta win 3 seats each
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Mon, 26 May, 2014 12:03:29 AM
Stubb bags highest votes in EU polls in Finland
FTimes-Xinhua-STT Report, May 26
 
voters in European parliamentary polls in Espoo on Sunday. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.
The Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) took lead in the European parliamentary polls in Finland held on Sunday.
 
Both the ruling Kokoomus and the opposition Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party) secured three seats each in the polls but the Kokoomus bagged 22.6 per cent of the total votes while the Keskusta got 19.7 per cent.
 
Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb of the Kokoomus emerged as the star of the elections securing almost 150,000 votes, the highest by any candidate.
 
He had been a member of the European Parliament with the European People’s Party from 2004 to 2008.
 
voters in European elections. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.
The Kokoomus and the Keskusta held on to the number of seats they won in the previous elections five years ago.
 
Jussi Halla-aho of the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) got 80,000 votes, the second highest by any candidate.
 
The Finns Party also increased the number of seats in the EU parliament to two with Sampo Terho and Halla-aho heading to Brussels.
 
Olli Rehn, a former EU commissioner and a member of the Centre Party emerged as the third most popular candidate with 70,000 votes.
 
The Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (Christian Democrats of Finland) will not send a representative to Brussels as it lost the single seat it had won in the previous elections.
 
The Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland) also lost one seat from the previous elections and will now send two members to the EU parliament.
 
Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.
The remaining three seats were shared by the Green League, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party.
 
The Kokoomus received 22.6 per cent of the votes, lower than 23.2 per cent in the last elections in 2009. The Kokoomus is followed by the Centre, the Finns Party and the Social Democrats.
 
Both the Centre Party and the Finns Party drew more support than last time with 19.7 per cent and 12.9 per cent of the votes respectively.
 
However, the Social Democratic Party was the biggest loser in the elections with only 12.3 per cent of ballots, 5.2 per cent lower than in 2009.
 
A total of 251 candidates from 14 Finnish political parties took part in the elections this year for only 13 out of the total 751 seats of the new European Parliament.
 
More than 4.4 million Finns were eligible to vote in the elections and the voter turnout was 40.9 per cent, slightly higher than 40.3 per cent registered in 2009.
 
The European Parliament elections 2014 were held during May 22 to 25 to elect a total of 751 members from 28 EU countries. 
 
Twenty-one EU member states including Finland voted on Sunday to decide the formation of the new European Parliament for the next term from 2014 to 2019.
 
 
 
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