Parliamentary elections were held in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

between 1 and 3 July 1933. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 The

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

remained the largest party in Parliament with 78 of the 200 seats. However, Prime Minister

Toivo Mikael Kivimäki Toivo Mikael Kivimäki (5 June 1886 – 6 May 1968), ( J.D.), was a Finnish politician of the National Progressive Party who served as the head of the department of civil law at Helsinki University 1931–1956, Prime Minister of Finland ...

of the National Progressive Party continued in office after the elections, supported by

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

and quietly by most Agrarians and Social Democrats. They considered Kivimäki's right-wing government a lesser evil than political instability (various short-lived governments) or an attempt by the radical right to gain power. Voter turnout was 62.2%.

Background

The main campaign issues were the differing attitudes towards democracy and the rule of law between the Patriotic Electoral Alliance ( National Coalitioners and Patriotic People's Movement) and the Legality Front (Social Democrats, Agrarians,

Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...

and

Progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

). The Patriotic Electoral Alliance favoured continuing the search for suspected Communists - the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations had been outlawed in 1930 as treasonous organizations - and was against the Social Democrats' joining the government under any circumstances. The Legality Front did not want to spend any significant time on searching suspected Communists, but rather wanted to concentrate on keeping the far right in check. The Lapua Movement had been outlawed after its failed Mäntsälä rebellion in March 1932, and the Patriotic People's Movement had been established as its successor later in 1932. President Svinhufvud (National Coalition) strictly guarded law and order, an attitude which made him somewhat suspicious of the Patriotic People's Movement's motives. Prime Minister Kivimäki (Progressive) led a right-wing minority government, which President Svinhufvud fully supported in the effort to fight the Great Depression. Despite the Patriotic Electoral Alliance's vigorous election campaign, only about one-sixth of the participating Finnish voters supported it.Sakari Virkkunen, Finland's Presidents I / Suomen presidentit I, Helsinki: WSOY, 1994

Results

References

{{Finnish elections General elections in Finland

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results