Finnish parliamentary elections professionally administered, conducted in full respect for fundamental freedom, ODIHR report says

Finland’s 17 April parliamentary elections were professionally administered and commanded high levels of confidence, ODIHR concluded in the final report on the electoral process published on 21 July 2011.

The report notes that the campaign was dynamic and conducted in full respect for fundamental freedoms. The legal framework provides a sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections overall, but it could benefit from further improvements. Shortcomings include overly restrictive provisions to the right to stand as a candidate and associate in political parties for military staff, and limited opportunities for court appeals before the announcement of election results.

The report also recommends addressing the disparity in the size of constituencies, which results in wide variations in the effective threshold required to win a seat; strengthening political financing legislation; improving security measures for safeguarding sensitive materials during early voting, and fully ensuring the secrecy of the vote for voters with disabilities. The report is available on //www.osce.org/odihr/81121.