Finland’s SDP members reconsider opposition to deportation law after group meeting

Nine members of Finland’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) had intended to seek permission from their parliamentary group to vote against the controversial deportation law. However, at least two of them withdrew their intentions after the SDP’s group meeting on Tuesday. One of these MPs, Helena Marttila, had previously opposed the law but did not seek permission to vote against it after the meeting. Marttila stated that she did not finally apply for permission, indicating that she has aligned with the group’s decision to vote in favor of the law. Six MPs have publicly stated their intention to vote differently from the group’s decision.

Marttila explained that she refrained from submitting an application to vote against the law because she wanted to have discussions with her more experienced colleagues. She added that the deadline to apply for permission to vote differently was until 8pm on Wednesday.

Marttila also mentioned that the SDP group has known for a while that she was critical of the deportation law. However, she stated that she has decided to align with the group’s stance after all. She cited the government’s push for the law to be passed quickly for Finland’s security as the main pressure. She added that no alternatives to the deportation law were proposed.

Another SDP MP, Pinja Perholehto, was also looking to apply for permission to vote against the law but ultimately chose not to. Perholehto stated that she was not pressured into her decision. She expressed that the situation, which has been ongoing for months, has certainly stirred emotions among members of the group.

Perholehto criticized the government’s handling of the law, stating that the least the government should do is to thoroughly explore alternatives. She quoted fellow MP Tarja Filatov, saying that it feels like choosing between the “plague and cholera”.

In total, six MPs of the SDP have stated that they have sought permission to vote against the deportation law, namely Matias Mäkynen, Elisa Gebhard, Krista Kiuru, Johan Kvarnström, Timo Harakka, and Nasima Razmyar. This is a decrease from the initial nine MPs who were against the law. The SDP group’s chair, Tytti Tuppurainen, confirmed on Tuesday that SDP MPs could apply for permission to vote differently from the group’s stance. The approval of these applications will be discussed in the SDP group meeting on Friday.