1908 Finnish parliamentary election

1908 Finnish parliamentary election

1–2 July 1908
All 200 seats in the Parliament of Finland 101 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Edvard Valpas-Hänninen Party SDP Finnish Young Finnish Last election 37.03%, 80 seats 27.34%, 59 seats 13.65%, 26 seats Seats won 83 55 26 Seat change 3 4 Popular vote 310,826 205,892 115,201 Percentage 38.40% 25.44% 14.23% Swing 1.37pp 1.90pp 0.58pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Axel Lille Otto Karhi Antti Kaarne Party RKP Agrarian SKrTL Last election 12.60%, 24 seats 5.75%, 9 seats 1.55%, 2 seats Seats won 24 10 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 103,146 51,756 18,848 Percentage 12.74% 5.75% 2.33% Swing 0.14pp 0.64pp 0.78pp

Parliamentary elections were held in the Grand Duchy of Finland on 1 and 2 July 1908.

Background

The Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolved the first modern and democratic Finnish Parliament after its Speaker, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, refused, in the Tsar's opinion, to show enough respect for him when speaking at the parliamentary session's opening. In 1908, the Russian government restarted its Russification policy in Finland, limiting Finnish self-government.

Campaign

Most Finns, including most Finnish parliamentarians, opposed the Russification, but disagreed on the means to effectively oppose it. The Social Democratic Party's supporters hoped for positive results from their party's work in Parliament, such as the growing prosperity of workers and tenant farmers, but would be disappointed during the next several elections. The other parliamentary parties, with the partial exception of the Agrarians, considered the Social Democrats' demands, such as an eight-hour workday, too radical to be implemented while Finland was trying to save its self-government. Parliament had no official control over the government, which was responsible only to the Tsar and to the Governor-General. Parliament's legislative power was also limited by the Tsar's ability to veto its laws, without a time limit on his consideration whether to veto the laws or not.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	310,826	38.40	83	+3
	Finnish Party	205,892	25.44	55	–4
	Young Finnish Party	115,201	14.23	26	0
	Swedish People's Party	103,146	12.74	24	0
	Agrarian League	51,756	6.39	10	+1
	Christian Workers' Union	18,848	2.33	2	0
	Others	3,772	0.47	0	–
Total		809,441	100.00	200	0
Valid votes		809,441	99.03
Invalid/blank votes		7,896	0.97
Total votes		817,337	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,269,177	64.40
Source: Mackie & Rose