London, Feb 26(IRNA)
Voters in Finland go to the polls on March 18 to elect a new government 100 years after the country held its first elections, in which all Finns over the age of 24 were entitled to vote.
In 1907, universal suffrage represented huge progress with Finland becoming the first country to allow women to vote.
It was also a great change for Finnish men, since most had not previously been entitled to vote or stand for office.
The election for a unicameral 200-member parliament (eduskunta) in spring of 2007 was held 10 years before Finland gained full independence from Russia. The first parliament included 19 women and since has grown to over a third of its members.
Finland also boasts that there is no single high government office that has never been held by a woman in the country, including the position of prime minister.
The latest election, in which all 18 and over are entitled to vote, like before will determine how easy or difficult it is to form a government.
With a proportional representation electoral system, Finland is prone to forming of a coalition government, usually made out from a combination of two of its three major parties -- the Center Party (CP), Social Democrats (SDP) and National Coalition Party (NCP).
In the last elections in 2003, the CP narrowly overtook the SDP to become the largest party, winning 55 of the 200 parliamentary seats.
It resulted in both parties again forming a centre-left government under Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen of the CP after Anneli Jaatteenmaki was forced to resign over a scandal.
The burning question is whether the SDP can reverse its position as the leading party, being only two seats behind the CP. If so, Eero Heinaluoma, the current finance minister, is likely to become prime minister.
Recent opinion polls show the SDP and CP running neck and neck, with the moderate ring-wing NCP trailing still in third place and likely to stay as the main opposition party.
The election has so far been low key with parties agreeing to suspend campaigning until Finland's six-month presidency of the EU ended in December.
According to Kyosti Karvonen, managing editor of the Kaleva newspaper, parties have also decided not to bring up seriously the delicate issue of Finland eventually joining NATO, despite all its five neighboring countries now being members.
Karvonen suggests that what may prove crucial could be how the two main party chairmen, Vanhanen and Heinaluoma, perform in their television debates.