President of Finland - Election

Election

Candidates for president can be nominated by registered parties which have received at least one seat in the preceding parliamentary election. A candidate may also be nominated by 20,000 enfranchised citizens. Between 1919 and 1988, the President was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In the 1988 presidential election, a direct and an indirect election were conducted in parallel: if no candidate could gain majority, the President was elected by an electoral college formed in the same elections. Since 1994, the President has been elected by a direct popular vote.

If only one candidate is nominated, he or she becomes President without an election. Otherwise, the first round of balloting takes place on the third Sunday of January in the election year. The elections are two-staged. If one of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast, he or she is elected President. If no candidate wins the majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage three weeks later. The candidate who then receives more votes is elected. In the event of a tie, the election is resolved by lot. The Council of State confirms the outcome of the election and, if necessary, conducts the drawing of lots. The President assumes office on the first day of the month following the election (either 1 February or 1 March depending on whether there were one or two rounds).

There have been several exceptional presidential elections. The first President, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, was chosen by the Parliament due to the transition rule of the constitution. In 1940 and 1943, the 1937 electoral college chose the President, as it was felt that a popular election could not be arranged due to the Continuation War. In 1944 special legislation directly stipulated that Marshal Mannerheim be elected President for six years after Risto Ryti had resigned mid-term. In 1946, special legislation empowered the Parliament to choose a successor for the remainder of Mannerheim's term (until 1950), the latter having resigned. Parliament then chose Prime Minister Juho Kusti Paasikivi as President. In 1973, special legislation extended President Urho Kekkonen's term by four years until 1978, when he was re-elected regularly.