Ryti's mandate as president was intended to extend only through the rest of Kallio's term, i.e., to 1943, but as the government could not organize elections during the Continuation War, the electors from 1937 gathered to re-elect him.
Det var meningen, at Rytis præsidentperiode kun skulle strække sig indtil udløbet af Kallios periode, dvs. til 1943, men da regeringen ikke kunne gennemføre valg under Fortsættelseskrigen, samledes valgmændene fra 1937 for at genvælge ham.