A total of 490 candidates set to take part in the Representative Council elections of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki
NEWS
A total of 490 candidates from six different electoral alliances have been nominated as candidates for HYY’s Representative Council elections. The coronavirus provided some challenges for the nomination of candidates.
The Central Election Committee of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki has confirmed the candidate lists of the Representative Council elections held in late October–early November. There are six electoral alliances competing for votes in the elections, with some of them likely to form several groups in the Representative Council. The decrease in the number of candidates from the previous elections – from 591 to 491 – is clear but smaller than expected.
‘Before the nomination of candidates ended, no one knew how the coronavirus situation and the reduced number of physical events would affect it. The result could well be called a defensive victory for democracy’, HYY’s Secretary General Aaro Riitakorpi states.
The electoral coalitions of student nations, which operate as Osakuntalainen edustajistoryhmä in the current Representative Council, and Svenska Nationer och Ämnesföreningar (SNÄf) form an electoral alliance together. Their total number of candidates fell by 34 people from the 2018 elections. The electoral alliance Maailmanpyörä, which previously consisted of HYY’s Greens (HyVi) and the Independent Left (SitVas), now also includes the Social Democratic Students’ Association (OSY), which surprisingly failed to get any seats in the previous Representative Council elections. Due to HyVi’s increased number of candidates and the addition of OSY, Maailmanpyörä, with its 140 candidates, is now the largest electoral alliance.
Students of the National Coalition Party are participating in the elections with a full list of 60 candidates (+12), once again forming the electoral alliance Edistykselliset with the 11 candidates (+2) of Centre Students Finland’s Keskeiset coalition. HELP and HYAL, the alliances formed around subject organisations, both fell short of their previous candidate numbers in the recruitment for these elections, influenced as it was by the exceptional situation: HELP, which consists of students of medicine, pharmacy and law, was the largest alliance in terms of the number of candidates two years ago and now has 84 candidates (-36), whereas HYAL, which connects people involved in subject organisations in several faculties, managed 74 candidates (-29). In addition to the current Representative Council groups and OSY, the elections also include Liberaalinen Vaaliliitto with their two candidates.
HYY’s Representative Council elections are held completely electronically on 28–30 October and 2–4 November. The elections are held to elect the highest decision-making body of the Student Union, the 60-member Representative Council. All HYY’s members – around 26,000 students at the University of Helsinki – are entitled to vote in the elections. The election result is published on the evening of the last election day in an election night broadcast that is streamed online.
Candidate numbers can be found in a separate PDF file.
Numbers of candidates (change from the previous elections; number of seats in the current Representative Council)
HELP: 84 (-36; 9)
Maailmanpyörä: 140 (+26)
– HYYn Vihreät – De Gröna vid HUS – Helsinki University Greens: 60 (+7; 11)
– Sitoutumaton Vasemmisto – Obunden Vänster – Independent Left: 59 (-1; 9)
– Opiskelijoiden sosialidemokraattinen yhdistys: 21 (-5; 0)
HYAL: 74 (-29; 16)
Osakunnat & Svenska Nationer och Ämnesföreningar: 119 (-34)
– Osakunnat 1 & 2: 81 (-12; 4)
– Svenska Nationer och Ämnesföreningar: 38 (-22; 6)
Edistykselliset 71 (+6)
– Kokoomuksen opiskelijat: 60 (+4; 4)
– Keskeiset: 11 (+2; 1)
Liberaalinen Vaaliliitto: 2 (±0; 0)
Further information:
Teemu Palkki
Election coordinator
050 449 7950
Aaro Riitakorpi
Secretary general
0400 816 426
