2007 Ålandic legislative election explained

Country:Åland
Previous Election:2003
Next Election:2011
Election Date:21 October 2007
Seats For Election:All 30 seats in the Parliament of Åland
Majority Seats:16
Turnout:67.80% (0.18 pp)
Party1:Liberals for Åland
Leader1:Viveka Eriksson
Last Election1:7
Percentage1:32.56
Seats1:10
Party2:Åland Centre
Leader2:Roger Nordlund
Last Election2:7
Percentage2:24.23
Seats2:8
Party3:Non-aligned Coalition
Leader3:Gun-Mari Lindholm
Last Election3:3
Percentage3:12.27
Seats3:4
Party4:Åland Social Democrats
Leader4:Barbro Sundback
Last Election4:6
Percentage4:11.80
Seats4:3
Party5:Freeminded Co-operation
Leader5:Jörgen Strand
Last Election5:4
Percentage5:9.61
Seats5:3
Party6:Future of Åland
Leader6:Anders Eriksson
Last Election6:2
Percentage6:8.34
Seats6:2
Lantråd
Before Election:Roger Nordlund
Before Party:Åland Centre
After Election:Viveka Eriksson
After Party:Liberals for Åland

Legislative elections were held in Åland on 21 October 2007 to elect members of the for the Lagting.[1] All 30 seats were up for election to four-year terms using proportional representation. The Åland Progress Group did not participate in the elections, as its sole member of the Lagting, Ronald Boman, opted to retire, while a new organisation, the Hut Group, unsuccessfully contested its first election.

The Liberals for Åland won the most seats in the election and formed a government with Åland Centre, in which Liberal Viveka Eriksson became the new premier.[2]

Opinion polls

A 2006 survey indicated that the Liberals for Åland would regain their status as the largest party in the Lagting, while the previously dominant Åland Centre would fall below 20% of the vote for the first time in its history. The Future of Åland, which supports the independence of Åland from Finland and was contesting its second election to the Lagting, would more than double its vote. A 2007 survey, on the other hand, indicated that the Åland Centre would remain the largest party in the Lagting.

Polling firm/CommissionerDateSample sizeCLibÅSDFSObSÅFÅfgHUT
Tidningen Åland13 October 200730127.9
22.6
12.6
11.4
14.2
10.3
1.0
Ålands statistik- och utredningsbyråAutumn 2006~1,14019.9
24.0
18.0
14.2
6.5
13.6
1.3
2003 legislative election19 October 200324.1
24.1
19.0
13.6
9.4
6.5
3.4

Results

Ultimately, two of the parties in the Landskapstyrelse, Moderates of Åland and the Åland Social Democrats, incurred heavy losses, with the Social Democrat representation in the Lagting being cut in half and Freeminded Co-operation falling below 10% of the votes for the first time in the party's history.[3] The third party in the government, the Åland Centre, made narrow gains.[3] The winner of the election was the Liberals for Åland, who reclaimed the mantle as the largest party and, for the first time in the party's history, crossed the 30% mark.[3]

The significant losses for the Moderates of Åland and the Social Democrats can be partially explained by discontent with the government, as well as the retirements of popular members of the Lagting, Harriet Lindeman (Moderates of Åland) and Lasse Wiklöf (Social Democrats). The election also marked the return of former Åland member of the Finnish parliament and member of the Lagting Gunnar Jansson for the Liberals, who became the most popular candidate with 745 votes cast for him, or 5.6% of all votes cast in the election. Former member of the Lagting, Lantråd (premier of the government of Åland) and recently retired member of the Finnish parliament, Roger Jansson (Moderates of Åland), while not receiving as many votes as Gunnar Jansson, was also elected.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lagtingsval och kommunalval 21 oktober 2007 . 2010-06-11.
  2. Web site: Ny landskapsregering utsedd . 2010-06-11 . 2007-11-26 . Ålands lagting.
  3. Web site: Aland/SF . 2010-06-11 . Parties and Elections in Europe . https://web.archive.org/web/20100317020218/http://www.parties-and-elections.de/aland.html . 2010-03-17 . dead .