Citizens' Party (Finnish: Kansalaispuolue, Swedish: Medborgarpartiet) was a Finnish political party, founded in 2016.[1] It was founded by the long-time Centre Party politician and MEP Paavo Väyrynen, who left Centre in early 2016.[2] Väyrynen acted as the first chairman of the party until July 2017, when he was succeeded by Sami Kilpeläinen.[3]
Citizens' Party | |
|---|---|
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Finnish name | Kansalaispuolue |
| Swedish name | Medborgarpartiet |
| Abbreviation | KP |
| Chairman | Sami Kilpeläinen |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Dissolved | 2022 |
| Split from | Centre Party |
| Ideology | Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Parliament of Finland | 0 / 200 |
| Website | |
| kansalaispuolue | |
The party did not take part in the 2017 municipal elections, although Väyrynen was elected to the City Council of Helsinki as an independent candidate.[4] Väyrynen also participated in the 2018 presidential election as an independent candidate, finishing fourth with 6.2 percent of the votes.[5]
In March 2018, Citizens' Party expelled Väyrynen from the party, due to his alleged misdeeds with the campaign funding during the presidential elections.[6] Väyrynen denied the allegations and instead started a court case against the activities of the board of the party.[7] While the court case was still ongoing, Väyrynen founded a Citizens' Party's parliamentary group, intending to represent the party within the parliament.[8]
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.[9] Chairman Sami Kilpeläinen soon announced that they would appeal against the decision while preparing for the 2019 parliamentary election as usual.[10] The decision promoted Väyrynen to abandon the Citizens' Party's parliamentary group in favor of that of his Seven Star Movement.[11] In April 2019, Citizens' Party and Väyrynen settled their differences.[12]
Citizens' Party took part in the 2019 parliamentary election, but none of its candidates were elected.[13] The party was dissolved in August 2022, and its active members were transferred to the Christian Democrats.[14]
Electoral performance edit
Parliament of Finland edit
| Year | Elected | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | 7,645 | 0.2% |
European Parliament edit
| Year | Elected | Votes | Share | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | 2,043 | 0.1% | [15] |
Municipal elections edit
| Year | Elected | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 | 41 | 0.0% |
References edit
- ^ "Paavo Väyrysen kansalaispuolue puoluerekisteriin". Iltalehti (in Finnish). 15 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Paavo Väyrynen perustaa uuden puolueen" (in Finnish). Ilta-sanomat. 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Kansalaispuolueessa on vain noin 30 päätösvaltaista jäsentä – tuore puheenjohtaja Sami Kilpeläinen aikoo jättää keskustan luottamustehtävät" (in Finnish). Suomenmaa. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Valitut: Helsinki". Ministry of Justice. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Väyrynen "äärimmäisen tyytyväinen" omaan tulokseensa – "Keväällä tulen ilahduttamaan Suomen kansaa sillä, että palaan eduskuntaan"" (in Finnish). Yle. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Kansalaispuolue ilmoittaa erottaneensa Paavo Väyrysen puolueesta" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanoamt. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Itseluottamusta uhkuva Väyrynen jättää kansalaispuolueen, tähtää yhä Sipilän tilalle – "Olen ollut kaksi kertaa nostamassa keskustaa kuilun partaalta"" (in Finnish). MTV3. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Väyrysen tilanteesta päänvaivaa eduskunnassa: "Emme voi tässä vaiheessa oikein evätäkään"" (in Finnish). Uusi Suomi. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Käräjäoikeus: Kansalaispuolueella ei ollut toimivaltaa erottaa Paavo Väyrystä" (in Finnish). Yle. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
- ^ "Kansalaispuolue aikoo valittaa hoviin ratkaisusta, jonka mukaan Väyrysen erottaminen oli laiton – "Mahdoton hyväksyä"" (in Finnish). Yle. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
- ^ Ruokangas, Perttu (16 November 2018). "Väyrynen ei ehdolle EU-vaaleihin, eduskuntavaaliehdokkuus 'mahdollista'". Yle News (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ Varpula, Salla (9 April 2019). "Paavo Väyrynen ja kansalaispuolue sopivat riitansa". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Parliamentary Elections 2019: Party Results". Ministry of Justice. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Kansalaispuolue lopettaa toimintansa, aktiivinen jäsenistö sulautuu kristillisdemokraatteihin". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- ^ "European Elections 2019: Results: Whole country". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
External links edit
- Official website
(in Finnish)
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