Finns Party leader Riikka Purra has defended the decision of two Finns Party MPs to participate in the 612 torchlight procession on Independence Day rather than attending the annual Presidential Palace gala.
Addressing the matter in a statement on Sunday, she described the 612-march as a nationalist event highlighting patriotic values.
"In a democracy, these values include the freedom of assembly and freedom of speech," she wrote.
Finns Party MPs Teemu Keskisarja and Sheikki Laakso previously announced plans to skip the President's Independence Day ball.
In previous years, far-right activists have participated in the so-called 612 procession. Police are expecting thousands of far-right and anti-fascist demonstrators to converge on Helsinki city centre on Independence Day.
Purra wrote that the Finns Party neither condones undemocratic practices nor far-right activities. She added that a Left Alliance parliamentarian has spoken at an event that could be characterised as anti-semitic.
"I don't believe this a good practice, but it's a parliamentarian's right."
Riikka Purra, who also serves as Finland's finance minister, has led the Finns Party since 2021.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his spouse, Suzanne Innes-Stubb, will host their first Independence Day celebration at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki on 6 December. Unity is the theme of this year's gala event.