2023 Finnish Sámi parliamentary election

The 2023 Finnish Sámi parliamentary election took place between 4 September and 2 October 2023 to elect 21 members and four deputy members to the Sámi Parliament of Finland.

2023 Finnish Sámi parliamentary election
4 September – 2 October 2023
All 21 members[lower-alpha 1] to the
Sámi Parliament of Finland
Registered6,060
Turnout51.63%

Overview

Electoral system

Unlike elections to the Sámi Parliament of Norway, elections to the Sámi Parliament of Finland are non-partisan. Candidates are nominated by voter associations of at least three Sámis who are eligible to vote under the Sámi electoral roll.[1]

The four municipalities of the Sámi Domicile Area elect three members (as well as one deputy member) each: Enontekiö, Utsjoki, Inari and a portion of Sodankylä. The remaining nine members and three deputies are elected among the candidates who received the highest share of the votes, regardless of which municipality they live in or whether they live outside the Sámi homeland.

Procedure

Elections to the Sámi Parliament are administered over a four-week period, beginning on the Monday of the first full week of September. Voting concludes on 2 October 2023.

Voter eligibility and registration

Under Section 3 of the Act on the Sámi Parliament,[2] a person is eligible to register for the Sámi electoral roll if they identify as Sámi and:

  • They, or one of their parents or grandparents was native Sámi speaker, or
  • They are descended from a person in the mountain, forest, or fisher Lapp Sámi register, or
  • At least one of their parents are, was, or could have been, eligible to vote in the elections to the Sámi Parliament of 1995 or the Sámi Council of 1973.

Any Sámi wishing to participate in the election had to apply to be entered in to the electoral roll by 31 December 2022 at 4 p.m. local time (EEST).[3]

Campaign

The election comes at a time of tense relations between the Sámi community and the government of Finland. Reforms to the Sámi Parliament Act, which would enshrine the right of the Sámi to self-determination and amend the Sámi heritage requirements for voting in Sámi Parliament elections, had been under consideration for several years[4][5][6] but failed to come to fruition. The most recent attempt to reform the act was shot down by the Parliament of Finland's Constitutional Law Committee on 24 February 2023.[7]

Candidates

The final list of candidates was announced at a meeting of the Sámi Assembly Election Board on 9 August. A total of 34 candidates were approved to run in the elections:[8]

CandidateHome town
Palonoja Armi TuulikkiSodankylä
Nuorgam Mirva Anne MarjattaUtsjoki
Ljetoff Tauno JuhaniInari
Pieski Pentti IlmariUtsjoki
Hirvasvuopio Janne KalervoEspoo
Lukkari Sammol AnttiUtsjoki
Pekkala Aslak TimoInari
Tapiola Nilla SamuliUtsjoki
Magga Ellen Ulla-MaaritEnontekiö
Semenoff Tinja SofiaRovaniemi
Aikio Matti Ville GabrielSodankylä
Kiprianoff Maarit Ulla KatariinaHelsinki
Katajamaa Marko TapioInari
Avaskari Anu Aino-Sisko MaaritInari
Niittyvuopio Inga Anni-SofiaUtsjoki
Länsman Asko TapaniUtsjoki
Porsanger Markku EelisUtsjoki
Suoninen Anne MargareettaInari
Näkkäläjärvi Pirita SusannaInari
Koivisto Anni KaisaInari
Guttorm Kari TapaniUtsjoki
Aikio Leo Jouni OlaviInari
Musta Inka Maria Susanna Helsinki
Niittyvuopio-Jämsä Leena-Maaret KaarinaUtsjoki
Lukkari Kari ToivoKirkkonummi
Alakorva Juha PetteriSodankylä
Gauriloff Mari (Minna Marianne)Helsinki
Niittyvuopio Veijo Uula TapaniHelsinki
Hetta Karen-AnniSodankylä
Feodoroff Veikko ArmasInari
Aikio MarjaanaInari
Juuso Tuomas AslakEnontekiö
Valkeapää Niko-MihkalEnontekiö
Keskitalo Pigga Päivi KristiinaEnontekiö

Results
Results of the 2023 Sámi Parliament of Finland election[9]
Candidate Vote Mandate
Elected? Area
Avaskari Anu Aino-Sisko Maarit 198 Inari
Koivisto Anni Kaisa 186 Inari
Musta Inka Maria Susanna 163 At-large
Juuso Tuomas Aslak 150 Enontekiö
Aikio Leo Jouni Olavi 148 Inari
Länsman Asko Tapani 134 Utsjoki
Nuorgam Mirva Anne Marjatta 132 Utsjoki
Keskitalo Pigga Päivi Kristiina 132 Enontekiö
Näkkäläjärvi Pirita Susanna 124 At-large
Magga Ellen Ulla-Maarit 119 Enontekiö
Niittyvuopio-Jämsä Leena-Maaret Kaarina 111 Utsjoki
Pekkala Aslak Timo 110 At-large
Hirvasvuopio Janne Kalervo 109 At-large
Tapiola Nilla Samuli 105 At-large
Ljetoff Tauno Juhani 97 At-large
Feodoroff Veikko Armas 94 At-large
Katajamaa Marko Tapio 89 At-large
Lukkari Kari Toivo 87 At-large
Hetta Karen-Anni 85 Sodankylä
Pieski Pentti Ilmari 81 DeputyUtsjoki
Gauriloff Mari (Minna Marianne) 78
Valkeapää Niko-Mihkal 65 Deputy Enontekiö
Niittyvuopio Veijo Uula Tapani 65
Niittyvuopio Inga Anni-Sofia 58
Porsanger Markku Eelis 55
Aikio Marjaana 55 Deputy Inari
Guttorm Kari Tapani 48
Palonoja Armi Tuulikki 46 Sodankylä
Alakorva Juha Petteri 45 Sodankylä
Semenoff Tinja Sofia 42
Kiprianoff Maarit Ulla Katariina 30
Aikio Matti Ville Gabriel 27 DeputySodankylä
Lukkari Sammol Antti 25
Suoninen Anne Margareetta 26

Turnout by area

Turnout was highest among voters in Utsjoki and lowest among registered voters outside of Finland.[9]

Area Votes cast Registered Turnout
Sámi
homeland		 Enontekiö 196 288 68.06%
Inari 799 1,452 55.03%
Sodankylä 146 268 54.48%
Utsjoki 339 461 73.54%
Rest of Finland 1,649 3,224 51.15%
Overseas voters 87 367 23.71%
Total 3,129 6,060 51.63%

Notes
  1. As well as four deputy members

References
  1. "Ehdokkaan asettaminen saamelaiskäräjien vaaleissa". Samediggi (in Finnish). 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  2. "Act on the Sámi Parliament" (PDF). Finlex. 1995. § 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2022.
  3. "Vaalit". Samediggi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  4. "Act on Sámi Parliament up for reform in Finland". The Independent Barents Observer. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  5. Salonen, Saara-Maria. "President of the Sámi Parliament of Finland expects the Parliament Act reform will go forward". The Independent Barents Observer. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  6. Mac Dougall, David (29 October 2022). "Sanna Marin apologises for lack of action on Sámi human rights". euronews. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  7. Mac Dougall, David (24 February 2023). "'Sad, angry, betrayed and empty': Sanna Marin's human rights reforms for indigenous Sámi fails". euronews. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
  8. "Vaalilautakunta on laatinut ehdokasluettelon vaaleihin 2023". Samediggi (in Finnish). 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  9. "SAAMELAISKÄRÄJÄVAALIEN TULOS" (PDF). Saamelaiskäräjät. 5 October 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2023.
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