In 2020, the average age of a student starting at a university of applied sciences was 25.3 years old and the average age of a student starting at a university was 22.8 years old (YLE 17.2.2021). Students come from all age groups and walks of life, but the majority are still young adults.
In 2019, around 55% of young people (aged 18-24) voted. The turnout is up significantly from the previous election in 2015, but still too low. Around 71% of the total population voted in the last election. The 65-74 age group was the most active at the ballot box. 82% of them voted (Statistics Finland).
Not only are voters older, but this also means that MPs are at least older than the average student. In 2019, the average age of an elected MP was 46. Around 15% of MPs were at or close to retirement age (Eduskunta.fi).
So, why should a student vote? So that a 65-year-old who has done well all his life, who has studied at a time when flats cost about three marks and a life-long job after graduation was obtained with a cheerful mind and a firm handshake.
The job of students is to study. So perhaps, in principle, students cannot sit in Parliament and decide for themselves on matters that affect them. But there must be people there who understand the life of students in the 2020s. Of course, the period of study lasts only for a short time, but the effects of exhaustion or debt, for example, will be felt for years, even decades, after graduation. So it doesn’t matter who is advocating on your behalf on issues that affect students.
The Sámi Parliament Act has long been a hot topic in Finland. There have been attempts to change it under three governments. In simple terms, the issue is that the Sámi people are currently not allowed to determine themselves who can be added to the electoral roll, i.e. who can stand as a candidate in the Sámi Parliament. The aim is to remove the so-called ‘Lapp’ criterion from the law. This criterion was added to the law in the 1990s without the approval of the Sámi people. Descendants of people who are identified as ‘Lapp’ can be entered on the electoral roll, even though being a ‘Lapp’ is related to a livelihood, such as reindeer husbandry, not to Sámi ethnicity. It is therefore a question of the Sámi’s right to self-determination to determine the members of their nation and the structures of their institutions. The Sámi Parliament Act is an example of Parliament making decisions without regard to the relevant issues.
Members of parliament are, as their name implies, representatives of the people. In theory, the composition of Parliament should therefore be a cross-section of the entire population of Finland. According to Statistics Finland, in 2021 there were 315 604 higher education students in Finland. This is the size of the group that must be represented in the Parliament. That voice can be very weak if it belongs to someone who does not understand student affairs.
Mari Purhonen
Specialist, Advocacy & Communications
This post is also available in Suomi.