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Stubb and Haavisto are fighting for the presidency in Finland
In a first round of elections two weeks ago, the conservative Stubb and the Green politician Haavisto received the most votes of the nine candidates. photo
© Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
The next president of Finland will be named either Alexander Stubb or Pekka Haavisto. Surveys see one of the two as favorites.
In a first round of elections in the EU and NATO country that borders Russia, the conservative Stubb and the Green politician Haavisto received the most votes of the nine candidates two weeks ago. In doing so, they eliminated other heavyweights in Finnish politics such as the right-wing populist parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho and the former EU currency commissioner Olli Rehn. Stubb received 27.2 percent of the vote, Haavisto 25.8 percent. However, because none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority, there is now a runoff election. The winner will take up his new office as scheduled at the beginning of March.
After a campaign that was characterized by mutual respect and objective debates instead of personal attacks, Stubb goes into the decisive election round as the slight favorite. In the last survey by the radio station Yle before election day, he was at 54 percent, Haavisto at 46 percent. Other surveys in recent days have also come up with similar values. According to Yle, however, so many voters have recently remained undecided that their votes could turn things around in Haavisto’s favor.
Almost half of Finns have already voted
The first projections immediately after polling stations close will be based on early votes cast. They should already give a good picture of the mood: almost half of those eligible to vote who live in Finland (46 percent) have already put their cross before the actual election day. A total of almost 4.3 million Finns can cast their vote in the runoff election.
Finland borders Russia for a length of 1,340 kilometers. Under incumbent President Sauli Niinistö and under the impression of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Nordic country decided to apply for NATO membership in 2022. After decades of military freedom from alliance, it was accepted into the defense alliance as the 31st member in April 2023.
Niinistö was not allowed to run for president again after two six-year terms. Unlike in Germany, the president in Finland is elected directly by the people and he also plays a more active role in politics than in many other European countries. His most important tasks include deciding on foreign and security policy together with the government, appointing members of the government and approving laws. However, he largely stays out of domestic politics.