osuusmenetelmän

osuusmenetelmän, also known as the "proportional method," is a system used in Finnish local government elections to allocate seats to political parties. It is a form of proportional representation designed to ensure that the distribution of seats in a municipal council reflects the proportion of votes each party receives. The primary goal of the osuusmenetelmän is to achieve a fair and representative outcome where smaller parties also have a chance to gain seats if they can garner sufficient support within a specific electoral district.

The method involves several steps, beginning with the calculation of the d'Hondt divisor, which is the total number of votes cast in the electoral district divided by the number of seats to be allocated. This divisor is then used to determine the number of seats each party receives. Each party's total vote count is divided by the divisor, and the resulting quotient indicates the number of seats they are entitled to. If there are remaining seats, they are allocated based on the highest remaining quotients. The osuusmenetelmän aims to minimize the difference between a party's vote share and its seat share, thereby promoting political inclusivity.