Former leader of the Basic Finns party Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) has been elected the new chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee after Wednesday’s vote.
The vote was by secret ballot, giving Halla-aho the majority of eleven votes required to get a seat.
Six members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs abstained and left their ballot papers blank. A blank ballot often represents a protest vote and may indicate dissatisfaction with the candidate.
The parliamentary procedure requires that the committee elect a chairman from among its members by secret ballot. A candidate must receive more than half of the votes to enter the office.
According to the current division of political parties in Finland, Basic Finns have the right to chair the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Former chair Mika Niikko (Finns) resigned last week after a backlash against a tweet that seemed to contradict Finland’s foreign policy towards Ukraine. The basic Finns then appointed Halla-aho to replace him.
Halla-aho served as chairman of the parliamentary administrative committee from 2011 to 2012, but resigned when the Supreme Court ordered her to pay fines for anti-Islamic blog posts.
The Foreign Affairs Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss a number of issues, including ongoing tensions in Ukraine and the agenda for future EU meetings. prime minister Sanna Marin (SDP) and the Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Greens) are expected to attend the meeting.
Source: The Nordic Page