Presidential elections: documentation of statistics

The valid and invalid ballots taken into account in the advance voting.

As a rule, advance votes are counted on the actual election day, Sunday, at 15.00 pm. The count may be advanced in large electoral districts; the earliest possible starting time is at 12 noon. The objective is to finish the counting of advance votes by 20.00 pm, from which time onwards advance data can be released.

Advance voting is conducted in all general elections both in Finland and abroad. The Election Act (section 46, subsection 1) decrees that every enfranchised person is entitled to vote in advance in the general advance voting polling stations in Finland and in the Finnish diplomatic missions abroad. On election day an enfranchised person may vote only in the polling station of his/her own voting district. A voter need not give grounds for advance voting, but may freely choose between voting in advance or voting on the election day.

Advance voting commences on the 11th and ends on the 8th day before the election day both in Finland and abroad.

The percentage of voters who voted in advance = their share of all voters.

In Statistics Finland statistics the share is calculated from all persons who voted. On the Ministry of Justice's Internet pages the percentage is calculated from all persons entitled to vote.

The new comprehensive Election Act was approved in the Presidential Session of 2 October 1998. The Act contains both the common procedural provisions on different elections and the specific provisions on all general elections. The Act replaced the earlier separate Acts on parliamentary elections, the Presidential Election, municipal elections and the European Parliamentary elections.

The new Election Act was applied for the first time in the Parliamentary elections of 1999. The new division into constituencies based on the division into regions was applied for the first time in the Parliamentary elections held in spring 2003.

In all elections related concepts the date of ratification is considered to be the first day of being in force. After its entry into force, the new Act has been applied to all general elections.

The provisions on invalid ballots are in section 85 of the Election Act. Grounds for invalidity are
1) the ballot envelope contains something else or more than one ballot paper
2) the ballot envelope has an unauthorised mark
3) something other than a ballot paper printed by the Ministry of Justice has been used as the ballot paper
4) the ballot paper has not been stamped
5) the candidate's number has been written unclearly
6) the elector's name or distinctive identification or some other inappropriate marking has been made on the ballot paper.

In addition to the above, statistics are compiled also on the number of empty ballots.

A party is an association which has been registered in the register of political parties maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Parties are voluntary associations whose main purpose is to influence the handling of the affairs of the state. Membership is usually gained through the party's local association.

According to the Finnish Constitution (section 54) the President of the Republic is elected by a direct vote for a term of six years. The President shall be a native-born Finnish citizen. The candidate who receives more than half of the votes cast in the election shall be elected President. If none of the candidates has received a majority of the votes cast, a new election shall be held between the two candidates who have received most votes. In the new election, the candidate receiving the most votes is elected President.

The first round of the Presidential election shall be held on the third Sunday of January of the sixth year after the year in which the previous President of the Republic was inaugurated. If a second round of elections is required, this shall be held on the second Sunday after the first round of Presidential elections.

In proportional elections each party (or other group) gains representative seats in relation to the number of votes cast for it compared with the votes cast for other groups. If, for instance, a party gains 20 per cent of the votes cast, it should also gain 20 per cent of the available seats.

Presidential elections are not proportional, as the votes are cast for individual candidates and not for parties.