Finnish oppn party elects 1st female chairperson

Helsinki, Aug 15 Finland's opposition party, the Finns Party, has elected Riikka Purra, a 44-year-old MP, as its new chairperson, making her the first woman to hold the position.

Purra had said she wouldn't change much about the party's current policies but would like to focus more on economic issues, pledging to limit immigration, reports Xinhua news agency.

She received 774 votes on Saturday, around 59 per cent of the 1,302 ballots cast at the party conference in Seinajoki.

The Finns Party was founded in 1995 and its predecessor was the Finnish Rural Party which stemmed from the populist movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

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