On Sunday 19 April 2015 the Finns went to the polls to elect a new government. The Pirates of Finland campaigned well and hard and despite  increasing their vote, it was not enough to gain a seat in Parliament.

The turnout was low at 70%. However, the Finnish Pirates increased their share of the vote by more than 66% nation wide and over 70% in Helsinki. In total PPFI achieved 0.8% with about 25.000 votes.

They are now looking to build on that success in the coming local elections. In an online report it was stated that the bitcoin donations, that we reported on earlier have skyrocketed to EUR 10,000 much more than the EUR 4,000 they collected from all sources last year. The extra funds will allow them to prepare for future elections and other campaigns.

They had a very successful viral video before the election. Lapland, the region of Hansi Harjunharja who made the video, achieved 0.8% which is more than normal for a new party.

In addition to this, the Pirates made the record once again, also at national level. We learned more about the strategies for the future, and most importantly, we feel now that there are partners with whom we can do joint work on elections in the future. -Hansi Harjunharja

Although the Pirates did not gain a representative there is something that many Pirates will take heart from. The Universal Basic Income supporting Center Party received 21% of the vote making them the biggest party. Other Basic Income-supporting parties, the Green League and the Left Alliance were on 8% and 7% respectively.

All images: CC BY-SA Ville Hautakangas – Piraattipuolue

About Andrew Reitemeyer

I joined the Pirate Party of Lower Saxony in Germany in April 2012, once I found out that non citizens were welcome to join and become active members of the Party.
I joined the Pirate Times soon after it was started as a proof reader and am now an editor and author. Since then I have returned to my native New Zealand and joined the Pirate Party of New Zealand.
Politically I come from the libertarian left and have, up to now, not regarded any political party as having a solution for the democratic deficit that envelops the world. With the advent of the Pirate Party, which truly embraces grass roots democracy, I have found a political home. The Pirate Times is a way I can contribute to furthering the Pirate Movement around the world.
Skype: frithogar

 

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On Sunday 19 April 2015 the Finns went to the polls to elect a new government. The Pirates of Finland campaigned well and hard and despite  increasing their vote, it…