Parliamentary elections were held in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

on 1 and 2 July 1908.

Background

The Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolved the first modern and democratic

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 ...

after its Speaker,

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

'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 The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

, 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.Allan Tiitta and Seppo Zetterberg, eds., Finland Through the Ages / Suomi kautta aikojen, Helsinki: Reader's Digest Ltd., 1992

Results

References

{{Finnish elections General elections in Finland

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 ...

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