by Anne Kauranen
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Center-right candidate Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party of Finland is expected to lead the second round of the presidential election, which will take place on Sunday.
Finland elects a new president to lead its foreign and security policy as part of its new role in NATO, after breaking from decades of non-alignment to rejoin the alliance in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Alexander Stubb, who served as Prime Minister, came first in the first round of the presidential election with 27.2% of the votes collected, ahead of the liberal Pekka Haavisto, member of the Green Party (25.8%).
The latest polls credit Alexander Stubb with a lead of 6 to 8 percentage points over his rival.
Both candidates are pro-European and strong supporters of Ukraine who have called for tough measures against Russia.
Nearly 46% of eligible voters voted in advance, according to official data. The first results of the early votes should be known shortly after polling stations close, at 18:00 GMT.
The name of the winner should be known around 9:00 p.m. GMT.
(Report by Anne Kauranen; French version by Camille Raynaud)
©2024 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.