Legislative elections were held in

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

on 21 October 2007 to elect members of the for the Lagting. All 30 seats were up for election to four-year terms using

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. The

Åland Progress Group The Åland Progress Group ( sv, Ålands Framstegsgrupp) was a political party in the Åland Islands that contested elections in 1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman ...

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 The Liberals for Åland ( sv, Liberalerna på Åland) is a liberal political party on the Åland Islands. The party is an observer member of the Liberal International. In the 2015 legislative elections, the party received the largest number of vot ...

won the most seats in the election and formed a government with

Åland Centre The Åland Centre ( sv, Åländska Centern) is an Nordic agrarian parties, agrarian-centrist List of political parties in Åland, political party on the Åland Islands. The party was founded by Karl-Anders Bergman in 1976. At the 2003 election, t ...

, in which Liberal

Viveka Eriksson Viveka Eriksson or Viveca Eriksson (born 18 August 1956) is a politician of Åland and the former Premier of Åland from 2007 to 2011. Professional overview *Member of the Lagting (Åland parliament) 2011 – *Premier, Government of Åland Octobe ...

became the new

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

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 The Future of Åland ( sv, Ålands Framtid) is a separatist political party on Åland. As a member of the European Free Alliance, the goal of the party is to make Åland an independent state. At the 2003 elections, the party won 6.5% of popular ...

, which supports the independence of Åland from

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 ...

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.

Results

Ultimately, two of the parties in the Landskapstyrelse,

Moderates of Åland Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American p ...

and the

Åland Social Democrats The Åland Social Democrats ( sv, Ålands Socialdemokrater) is a social-democratic political party on the Åland Islands. In the 2019 parliamentary election, the party won 9.1% of the popular vote and 3 out of 30 seats, a loss of two. The curren ...

, 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. The third party in the government, the Åland Centre, made narrow gains. 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. 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 Harriet Lindeman (born June 16, 1946) is a politician in the Åland Islands, an autonomous and unilingually Sweden, Swedish territory of Finland. * Minister of Social Affairs and Environment 2005-2007 * Second Deputy Speaker of the Lagting (Ålan ...

(Moderates of Åland) and

Lasse Wiklöf Lars-Åke "Lasse" Wiklöf (21 September 1944 – 23 August 2008) was a politician in the Åland Islands, an autonomous and unilingually Swedish territory of Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland ( ...

(Social Democrats). The election also marked the return of former Åland member of the

Finnish parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

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 Lantråd is the title of the Head of Government of the Åland, Åland Islands in Finland. The person holding the office leads its regional government. The current Lantråd is Veronica Thörnroos. __NOTOC__ List List of Premiers of the Åland Isl ...

(premier of the government of Åland) and recently retired member of the Finnish parliament,

Roger Jansson Roger Jansson (born 9 August 1943 in Kimito) is a politician in the Åland Islands,Official page

(Moderates of Åland), while not receiving as many votes as Gunnar Jansson, was also elected.

References

{{Åland elections Elections in Åland Aland Aland Aland