The Representative Council elections of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki have ended. Voter turnout in the elections was 33.26%, whereas the turnout in the previous elections in 2016 was 31.61%. Voting in the elections, held electronically for the second time, was organised on 31 October–2 November and 5–7 November.
Maailmanpyörä, formed by HYY’s Greens and the Independent Left, was the winner of the elections
Maailmanpyörä, consisting of HYY’s Greens and the Independent Left, emerged as the winner of the elections. The alliance now achieved a total of 20 seats on the council, with HYY’s Greens getting 11 and the Independent Left 9 seats. The Greens increased their number of seats by two and the Independent Left by one seat.
Besides Maailmanpyörä, the group to have increased their number of seats in HYY’s Representative Council the most was Svenska Nationer och Ämnesföreningar, consisting of Swedish-language student nations and subject organisations, which increased its number of seats from three to six.
HYAL, formed by subject organisations, received the second most seats after Maailmanpyörä. As such, it remains the largest independent group with its 16 seats. HELP, which consists of subject organisations from veterinary medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, medicine and law, retained its 9 seats, and the electoral alliance of student nations has four seats.
The subject organisations’ HYAL had been the largest electoral alliance in the Representative Council elections throughout the 2010s, with Maailmanpyörä in second place.
Some political groups failed to achieve any seats
In addition to HYY’s Greens and the Independent Left, the political groups to retain seats on the Representative Council are Edistykselliset, consisting of students of the National Coalition Party with four seats and Centre Students Finland’s Keskeiset with one seat. The Social Democratic Students’ Association (OSY) dropped out of the Council after losing its two seats.
The other political groups – the Finns Party’s electoral coalition, the Liberal electoral coalition and the Pirates – remained without seats. These groups have no seats in the present Representative Council either.
The new political electoral alliance to nominate candidates for the elections, Vapauden puolesta, which was formed by Blue Reform and Christian Democrats, also received no seats.
Candidates with the most votes in the elections
The candidates that received the most votes in the elections were Sebastian Österman from HYY’s Greens with 143 votes and Jessika Isomeri from the HYAL Kumpula list with 100 votes. Österman was elected into HYY’s Representative Council in 2016, whereas Isomeri was elected into the Council as a new representative.
Candidate numbers remained nearly the same
There were 591 candidates in the elections. In the previous elections in 2016, the number of candidates was 597. There were 11 alliances that nominated candidates for the elections, with some of these groups likely to act in the Representative Council as several separate groups. The groups participating in HYY’s elections have varying backgrounds: some are independent groups formed by subject organisations or student nations and some are political groups.
HYY’s Representative Council elections are held to elect the Student Union's highest decision-making body, the 60-member Representative Council. All HYY’s members, around 26,000 students at the University of Helsinki, were eligible to vote in the elections. The Representative Council has the highest decision-making power in HYY and makes decisions on issues such as the Student Union’s budget of several million euros, its major policies on the organisations operating within the Student Union, the University and society, and the business direction of the company the Student Union owns, HYY Group. In addition to this, the Representative Council appoints HYY’s Board and chairs as well as the student members of the Board of the University of Helsinki.
The election result and the results for previous years are available at http://vaalitulos.hyy.fi.
Result
Maailmanpyörä 20 (+3)
HYAL 16 (-2)
Representative Council group HELP 9 (0)
Svenska Nationer och Ämnesföreningar - SNÄf 6 (+3)
Edistykselliset 5 (-1)
Osakuntalainen vaalirengas 4 (-1)
Social Democratic Students’ Association (OSY) 0 (-2)
Finns Party’s electoral coalition 0 (0)
Vapauden puolesta – Blue Reform and Christian Democrats 0 (0)
Pirates 0 (0)
Liberal electoral coalition 0 (0)
Further information
Secretary General Aaro Riitakorpi
040 0816 426
[email protected]
Chair of the Student Union Suvi Pulkkinen
050 404 1810
Election Coordinator Silva Loikkanen
[email protected]
046 921 7850
Ruut Luukkonen
Viestintäasiantuntija / Kommunikationsspecialist / Communications Specialist
+358 50 543 9609
[email protected]
Helsingin yliopiston ylioppilaskunta (HYY)
Studentkåren vid Helsingfors universitet (HUS)
Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY)
Mannerheimintie 5 C, 2. krs, 00100 Helsinki
www.hyy.fi
www.facebook.com/HYY.HUS
Twitter: @ylioppilaskunta
Instagram: hyy_hus
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