Turku councillor Elina Hiltunen quits National Coalition Party

Turku city councillor Elina Hiltunen has resigned from the National Coalition Party, Yle reported. She will also give up all positions of trust to which she was elected as a party representative.

Olli A. Manni, chair of the National Coalition Party group on Turku City Council, confirmed to Yle that he received Hiltunen’s resignation on Thursday. He said the decision was entirely Hiltunen’s own and would clarify the situation.

The party suspended Hiltunen from its council group for two months at the beginning of September because of statements she had made on social media.

On Tuesday, the mayors of Turku, the chair of the city council and its deputy chairs issued a statement calling for an end to racism and conspiracy theories. The statement was linked to claims by Hiltunen that the party leadership was taking instructions from Muslims.

Hiltunen said on social media that she was resigning because of what she described as a smear campaign. She said the party had damaged her reputation and spread lies about her.

Turun Sanomat was the first to report Hiltunen’s resignation.