Rinne elected temporary speaker of parliament

The parliament on Wednesday temporarily elected Antti Rinne as the Speaker of Parliament, said the parliament in a press release.

Rinne bagged 187 votes during the plenary session.

Rinne is also the chair of Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP), the largest party in the parliament.

The 56-year old Rinne succeeded Jutta Urpilainen as the chair of SDP in 2014.He has served as a member of parliament since 2015 and as the minister of finance in 2014-2015.

Juho Eerola of Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) was elected the first deputy speaker with 172 votes, and Paula Risikko of Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) was elected with 178 votes as the second deputy speaker.

News agency Xinhua adds: Conventionally, after the formation of the coalition government, Rinne will become prime minister, and a representative of the second largest ruling partner will take up the position of the speaker.

Rinne said earlier that the negotiation would begin on April 26, and decision on the government formation should be made by May 27.

One of the major reasons for the sense of urgency is the fact that the presidency of the Council of the European Union will be handed over to Finland in July. It is important that the new government has sufficient time to prepare for the presidency, according to Rinne.