- Nationwide voting begins at 9 a.m. and ends tonight at 8 p.m.
Finnish voters cast their votes today as they prepare to elect a new president amid rising tensions with Russia.
These are unprecedented times for the Nordic country, which is not only a NATO member but also has a closed eastern border with Russia. These two things were almost unthinkable a few years ago.
Polling stations across the country opened at 9am this morning and will close at 8pm tonight.
Unlike most European countries, the Finnish president has executive power in shaping foreign and security policy, especially when dealing with countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia, and China.
Approximately 4.5 million people are eligible to vote for Finland’s new head of state from among nine candidates, six men and three women.
They are choosing a successor to hugely popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March. He is not eligible for re-election.
All candidates are expected to receive more than 50% of the votes in the first round of voting on Sunday, and the campaign will move to a run-off in February.
Recent opinion polls suggest that former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, 55, and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, are likely candidates.
Stubbe, head of the conservative National Union Party who led Finland’s government from 2014 to 2015, and Haavisto, a veteran politician and former UN diplomat who is running for the third time, are expected to each receive 23% of the vote. Estimated. The vote share was 27%.
Finland’s new head of state will begin his six-year term in March in a markedly different geopolitical and security situation in Europe than that of incumbent Niinistö after the 2018 election.
Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, abandoning decades of military non-alignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This greatly troubled President Vladimir Putin, who shares an 832-mile (1,340-kilometer) border with the Nordic countries.
Finland’s membership in NATO, which has made it the Western military alliance’s frontline state against Russia, and the escalating war in Ukraine, just 600 miles (1,000 km) from Finland’s border, have elevated the president’s status as a leader in security policy. Ta.
In line with Finnish politics, where consensus tends to be reached, months of campaigning has been going well among the candidates.
The two countries agree on key foreign policy issues, including Finland’s future policy toward Russia, strengthened security cooperation with the United States, and the need to continue supporting Ukraine both militarily and with humanitarian assistance.
“Due to the security situation, I think (the campaign) was conducted in a civilized manner,” Haavisto said late Saturday at a final campaign event at a music bar on the outskirts of the capital Helsinki.
“We (candidates) do not differ on fundamental questions. But it is a question of the new president’s credibility and his previous experience in foreign and security policy,” he said last year as foreign minister. added Haavisto, who signed Finland’s historic NATO accession treaty and played a key role in the accession process.
Pre-voting results will be confirmed immediately after voting closes, and the first results from Sunday’s vote are expected to be announced by around midnight (22:00 GMT). The results of the first round will be officially announced on Tuesday.
A second round of voting between the two candidates who received the most votes is scheduled for February 11th.