Citizens' Party (, ) was a
Finnish political party, founded in 2016. It was founded by the long-time
Centre Party politician and
MEP Paavo Väyrynen
Paavo Matti Väyrynen (; born 2 September 1946) is a Finland, Finnish Politics of Finland, politician who has served, among other things, as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982, and again from 198 ...
, who left Centre in early 2016. Väyrynen acted as the first chairman of the party until July 2017, when he was succeeded by Sami Kilpeläinen.
The party did not take part in the
2017 municipal elections, although Väyrynen was elected to the
City Council of Helsinki
The City Council of Helsinki ( , ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport.
The 85-seat Council's members ...
as an independent candidate. Väyrynen also participated in the
2018 presidential election as an independent candidate, finishing fourth with 6.2 percent of the votes.
In March 2018, Citizens' Party expelled Väyrynen from the party, due to his alleged misdeeds with the campaign funding during the presidential elections. Väyrynen denied the allegations and instead started a court case against the activities of the board of the party. While the court case was still ongoing, Väyrynen founded a Citizens' Party's parliamentary group, intending to represent the party within the parliament.
In November 2018, the District Court of Helsinki deemed void the majority of decisions made by the party board, including the decision to expel Väyrynen. Chairman Sami Kilpeläinen soon announced that they would appeal against the decision while preparing for the
2019 parliamentary election as usual. The decision promoted Väyrynen to abandon the Citizens' Party's parliamentary group in favor of that of his
Seven Star Movement.
In April 2019, Citizens' Party and Väyrynen settled their differences.
Citizens' Party took part in the 2019 parliamentary election, but none of its candidates were elected. The party was dissolved in August 2022, and its active members were transferred to the
Christian Democrats.
Electoral performance
Parliament of Finland
European Parliament
Municipal elections
References
External links
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Agrarian parties in Finland
Centrist parties in Finland
Political parties established in 2016
Political schisms
2016 establishments in Finland
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