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HELSINKI - Finnish opposition conservatives made strong gains in a general election yesterday, coming a narrow second to the ruling Centre Party and setting a course for a place in a new coalition Government.
The centre-right National Coalition Party won 50 seats in the 200-member Parliament - one fewer than the Centre Party and ahead of the 45 of the Social Democrats, the current partners in the Cabinet, according to nearly complete results.
The ballot, marking 100 years of elections in Finland, will result in another four-year coalition, with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen forming a new Government. "The result is clear. We are No 1 in votes and No 1 in seats," he told supporters.
National Coalition Party leader Jyrki Katainen said his party had won the right to be in a new Cabinet. "The National Coalition has taken a landslide victory. I think it would be very odd if we were not in the next Government."
Results with 99.9 per cent of votes counted showed the Centre Party pulling in 23.1 per cent of the vote, the National Coalition with 22.2 per cent and the Social Democrats 21.5.
- REUTERS
