Conservative former prime minister Alexander Stubb won Finland’s presidential election on Sunday after his rival Pekka Haavisto conceded with almost all votes counted.
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Some 4.3 million voters were choosing between Mr Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, a Green Party lawmaker who is running as an independent.
“Well, Alexander. Congratulations to Finland’s 13th president,” Haavisto told Stubb live on air after broadcaster Eire predicted Stubb won with 51.4 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, according to the official tally, Mr. Stubb received 51.7% of the votes, with over 98% of the votes counted.
“This is the greatest honor of my life,” Stubb said after Harvist conceded the goal.
The changing geopolitical situation in Europe will be the main challenge for the new head of state, who will guide the country’s foreign policy together with the government and serve as commander-in-chief of the Finnish armed forces, although his powers are more limited than that of the prime minister. It will be. .
Finland ended its decades-long military non-alignment relationship and joined NATO in April 2023 after relations between Moscow and Helsinki soured following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, which shares a 1,340km border with Finland, immediately warned of “countermeasures”.
“The fact that we have joined NATO is very important, because the building of the NATO institution in Finland and what it will look like will be primarily the task of the new president.” said Teodora Helimäki, a postdoctoral researcher. The University of Helsinki told AFP.
“The international political situation is very difficult for us at the moment and I think we really need a president who can work with different parties and who can negotiate,” Marit Tarkiainen, a 46-year-old doctor, told AFP in Helsinki. Told.
In the first round of voting on January 28, Mr. Stubbe came in first place with 27.2% of the votes, and Mr. Harvist came in a close second with 25.8% of the votes, earning him the right to participate in the second round.
In a poll released Thursday by public broadcaster Yale, Mr. Stubb received 54% of the vote, compared to 46% for Mr. Hervist.
wireless encapsulation
After the Cold War, Helsinki maintained good relations with Moscow.
President Sauli Niinisto, who was first elected in 2012 and will step down, once took pride in his close relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but has since become one of Putin’s harshest critics. became.
Niinistö contacted him directly and announced his decision to join NATO.
There has been radio silence since then, and Sunday’s winning candidate is unlikely to expect a call from the Kremlin.
In August 2023, Finland observed an influx of migrants entering the country through its eastern border without visas.
Helsinki closed its borders in November in response to claims that the Russian government was pressuring migrants to destabilize security, a move supported by both candidates.
Mr. Stubbe and Mr. Haavisto, both former foreign ministers, shared a similar vision of the country’s position toward Russia and called for additional sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine.
For Helimäki, the differences between the candidates came down to nuances on specific issues, such as the storage and transportation of nuclear weapons in Finland.
Haavisto acknowledged that as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Nordic country must take part in exercises related to the alliance’s nuclear policy, but preferred to keep them on Finnish soil. Not there.
Mr Stubb, however, insisted that “no part” of NATO’s nuclear deterrent should be excluded.
Given the similarities between the two, voters likely made their decision based on political preferences, said Matti Pes, a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
“Stubbe’s liberalism is associated with Western organizations and Western values, whereas Haavisto is more concerned with the global part, such as the United Nations, peace and development,” Pess told AFP. Told.
(AFP)