On Wednesday, 6 March 2013, Parliament approved an amendment to the Election Act as a result of which the number of electoral districts in Finland (excluding Åland) will be reduced from 14 to 12. The amendment was approved by a vote of 83–63.
The electoral districts of Kymi and South Savo will be combined into the new electoral district of Southeast Finland and the electoral districts of North Karelia and North Savo into the new electoral district of Savo-Karelia. The change will improve parliamentary elections' political proportionality in electoral districts with small numbers of candidates.
In the 2011 parliamentary elections 12 MPs were elected from the electoral district of Kymi and six from the electoral district of South Savo, while nine were elected from the electoral district of North Savo and six from the electoral district of North Karelia. According to population figures in July 2012, 17 MPs would be elected from the electoral district of Southeast Finland and 16 from the electoral district of Savo-Karelia.
The amendment will enter into force on 1 September 2013. The current electoral district division will still be used in the 2014 European Parliament elections, however.