Finland’s presidential election has been extended to the second round

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting “D Sight” publication, “Alexander Staub”, the former prime minister of Finland, won the first round of the Finnish presidential election on Sunday. He won 27.2 percent of the votes, ahead of Pekka Havisto, the country’s former foreign minister, who won 25.8 percent. This means that there will be a runoff election between Stubb and Havisto on February 11, since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.

Based on the results of the first round of the Finnish presidential election, after Stubb and Haavistu, Josi Hala Aho, the candidate of the extreme right party of Finland, came in third place. He won about 19% of the votes in the first round of this election. Olli Rehn, the head of the Central Bank of Finland and the former commissioner of the European Union, also reached 15.3% in this election. He was the Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. 65-year-old Haavistu, a former UN diplomat and former foreign minister of Finland, has run for the presidency for the third time as an independent candidate. Stubb expressed his delight at the result to supporters of an election party in Helsinki. He said he does not plan any major changes to the campaign before the second round. Havisto also said that regardless of the result of the second round, Finland remains a peaceful country and it is important that we maintain stability here.

All election candidates Finland’s presidency has promised to take a tough stance against Russia as its neighbor if elected. After Russia’s war against Ukraine began almost two years ago, Finland broke its decades-long military non-commitment. In April 2023, the EU member state joined NATO. Russia then threatened “retaliatory measures” in response.

About 4.5 million Finnish citizens are eligible to vote among nine candidates – 6 men and 3 women. and they could choose a successor for Sauli Niinisto, their beloved president, in this election. His second and final six-year term ends in March. According to preliminary data, voter turnout was 74.9 percent, compared to 69.9 percent in the last presidential election in 2018.

In Finland, unlike many In European countries, the president has executive power in foreign and security policy, especially when dealing with countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia, and China. The president also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Finnish military and represents the country at NATO meetings. These actions are carried out in close coordination with the government led by the Prime Minister.

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