Finland Times

 

Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson in the parliament on Tuesday. Photo Lehtikuva.

The government’s proposal to amend the constitution to have the number of electoral districts reduced was met with harsh criticism and opposition in the parliament on Tuesday.

 

The entire plan may crash because it still will require approval of the next parliament.

 

The amendment, if passed, will see the county having a minimum of nine electoral districts and a maximum of twelve.

 

In addition to the electoral districts in the mainland, the Årland Islands will form another.

 

Currently, the constitution provides for at least 12 and a maximum of 18 electoral districts.

 

The reform proposal was met with intense opposition, especially from Central Finland and Satakunta parliamentarians who perceive the reform as a threat to the position of their electoral districts or rather a threat to the identity of the regions.

 

Many of the legislators called for scrapping the proposal completely.

 

Mauri Pekkarinen of the opposition Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party) said he was eagerly waiting to see how MPs from Central Finland and Satakunta regions in the five-party ruling coalition vote on the matter when it is tabled before the parliament.

 

Mauri Pekkarinen of opposition Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party). Photo Lehtikuva.

Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson admitted that the entire proposal could crash because for it to pass it will require a two-thirds majority. So far the proposal does not have support from centrists and Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) legislators.

 

The minister pointed out that the actual division of the electoral districts had to be done in accordance to the electoral law. In practice, an electorate district in the Uusimaa region, for example, cannot be divided and be distributed to an unconnected electoral district somewhere else.

 

The justice minister, however, defended the proposal on the changes which it might bring. According to her, the current 9-10 per cent electoral-threshold requirement set for political parties in Satakunta and Central Finland to secure representation is quite high.

 

“I am not saying that changes must be made to these (electoral districts) and merged somewhere else, but this is now the problem in these electoral districts,” remarked Henriksson.

 

The minister admitted that a broader unification of electoral districts in Lapland would mean a weakened regional representation. Instead, she suggested that the election threshold in Lapland should remain high compared to elsewhere.