1908 Finnish parliamentary election

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.[1][2]

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	51,766	6.39	10	+1
	Christian Workers' Union	18,848	2.33	2	0
	Others	3,772	0.47	0	–
Total		809,441	100	200	0
Valid votes		809,441	99.03
Invalid/blank votes		7,896	0.97
Total votes cast		817,337	100
Registered voters/turnout		1,269,177	64.40
Source: Mackie & Rose[3]

Popular vote SDP   38.40% SP   25.44% NSP   14.23% RKP   12.74% ML   6.39% KTL   2.33% Others   0.47%

Parliament seats SDP   41.50% SP   27.50% NSP   13.00% RKP   12.00% ML   5.00% KTL   1.00%

References

1. Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujattilainen, Helsinki: WSOY, 2003
2. Allan Tiitta and Seppo Zetterberg, eds., Finland Through the Ages / Suomi kautta aikojen, Helsinki: Reader´s Digest Ltd., 1992
3. Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p243 (vote figures)