Finland’s SDP leadership plans to limit dissenting votes on controversial conversion law amidst allegations of silencing critics

The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Finland has planned to allow only six members of parliament to vote against a proposed conversion law. Initially, nine MPs intended to request permission to vote against the law, but only six have ended up doing so. There are allegations of efforts to silence the law’s opponents, with the atmosphere within the SDP parliamentary group reportedly being tense. The vote on the conversion law, set for Friday, is expected to be extremely tight.

The SDP leadership has allegedly been under pressure from the government to support the law. The party’s chairman, Antti Lindtman, is accused of forcibly pushing the law through within the SDP parliamentary group, despite opposition. Critics argue that Lindtman has given the impression that the party’s collective stance is being formed openly, while strategically delaying when MPs can publicly express their views on the conversion law.

The SDP parliamentary group is said to have a very pressured atmosphere, with MPs being led to understand that if they are responsible, they would support the law. Those who have a negative view of the conversion law have reportedly been silenced, with some MPs having abandoned their initial intentions to vote against the law.

The MPs who eventually applied for permission to vote against the law are Matias Mäkynen, Elisa Gebhard, Krista Kiuru, Johan Kvarnström, Timo Harakka, and Nasima Razmyar. Meanwhile, Helena Marttila and Pinja Perholehto announced on Thursday that they were abandoning their plans to vote against the law. Lotta Hamari also reportedly gave up her intention to vote against the law.

The SDP’s parliamentary group leader, Tytti Tuppurainen, announced on Tuesday that SDP MPs can apply for permission to vote differently from the group’s stance. She stated that the granting of permissions will be discussed on Friday at the SDP group meeting. The group leader has not confirmed how many MPs have applied for permission to vote differently from the group’s stance. The vote on the conversion law will take place in parliament on Friday.