Six basic Finnish members have nominated themselves as alternates Jussi Halla-aho as chairman of the party.
The new leader will be decided at the party’s convention, which will be held on 13 and 14 August in Seinäjoki. The full list of candidates includes:
Riikka Purra, Member of Parliament, First Vice-Chairman of the Party
Sakari Park, Member of Parliament
Ossi Tiihonen, City Councilor, Lohja
Zara Villikka, Kotka
Kristiina Ilmarinen, Salo
Urpo Vähäranta, Kirkkonummi
According to a survey published by Yle last week, about 65 per cent of the basic Finns who took part in the survey said they supported MP and Vice-President Purra, and the Park was in second place with 14 per cent support.
Eight candidates for the party secretary
Several other party functions will be decided at the August Congress, including three Vice-Chair roles and a Party Secretary.
The current secretary of the party, Simo Grönroos, applies for re – election to the position but has to compete with at least eight other candidates.
Among these other candidates Arto Luukkanen is best known in national politics because he is the chairman of the board of the Basic Finns’ brainstorming The Foundation of Finland, who came into contention last summer for publishing a misogynistic racist book.
Luukkanen is a university lecturer in regional and cultural studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Helsinki and is also a member of Järvenpää City Council.
The party elects three vice-chairmen
The party also elects three vice-chairmen in Congress, at least one of whom must be a woman and at least one must be according to the party’s rules.
To date, ten party members have expressed interest in becoming one of the three vice-presidents and the current third vice-president Juho Eerola not yet announced its intentions.
Deputies Leena Meri and Jari Ronkainen looking for the role of first vice-president, while MPs Arja Juvonen and Mauri Peltokangasamong other things, are nominated as second vice-chair.
Party members can still express their interest in any role at the party’s congress in August, which the party currently says has 2,100 registered attendees.
Source: The Nordic Page
