Finland had the choice today – but a final decision has apparently not yet been made. According to projections, the conservative Stubb is leading in the presidential election, followed by the Green Haavisto. The two will probably have to go into the runoff.
In the first round of the presidential election in Finland, the leader of the conservative coalition party, Alexander Stubb, is leading. According to projections by the Finnish radio station Yle, the former prime minister received around 27 percent of the vote that evening. Green Pekka Haavisto was in second place with nearly 26 percent, followed by Jussi Halla-aho of the nationalist Finnish Party with just under 19 percent. So far, a good 80 percent of all votes have been counted.
The decision on Finland’s future head of state is likely to be made in a runoff election on February 11th between Stubb and Haavisto. This is about the successor to incumbent Sauli Niinistö. He led his country into NATO after decades of non-alignment – in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago. Niinistö is not allowed to run again after two six-year terms.
Nine candidates stood for election. All promised a tough stance against neighboring Russia if they were elected president. In Finland, the head of state leads foreign and security policy in close cooperation with the government, represents the country at NATO meetings and is commander-in-chief of the defense forces.