Leading candidates Alexander Stubbe and Pekka Haavisto won on Sunday in the second round of Finland’s presidential election, which was held against the backdrop of worsening relations with neighboring Russia.
According to election officials, conservative former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won 27.2% of the vote after all votes were counted, while former Green Party Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who is running as an independent, won 25.8%. Secured.
Voter turnout was 71.5%.
The two candidates will face off in the run-off election on February 11th.
“No matter who we face in the second round, I am confident that we will be able to have a good, constructive and civilized discussion about the difficult issues of foreign policy,” Stubb previously told public broadcaster Yale.
Although the president’s powers are limited, the head of state, who also serves as commander-in-chief of the Finnish armed forces, works with the government and helps direct foreign policy. This means that the changing geopolitical situation in Europe will be the biggest concern for the winners.
“Looking at the two people who made it to the next round, foreign policy experience might be what people were looking for,” Hanna Ojanen, head of political science research at Tampere University, told AFP when the results were revealed. told.
In the lead-up to the vote, experts believed that Jussi Halaaho, a candidate from the far-right Finland Party, might advance to the second round. In the end, he came in third place with 19% of the vote.
Voter Hannu Kushti told AFP the country needed a president with “leadership” and “humanity”.
“Of course we have to be tough when we need to be,” he added.
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”.
humans as weapons
By August 2023, Finland observed an influx of migrants entering the country through its eastern border without visas.
Helsinki claimed Moscow was pushing hybrid attacks on migrants to destabilize and Finland closed its eastern border in November.
“We are now in a situation where Russia, especially Vladimir Putin, is using humans as weapons,” Stubb said in the final televised debate Thursday night.
“This is an immigration issue and a callous and cynical measure. In that case, we must prioritize the safety of Finland,” he added.
Haavisto stressed that Finland needs to “send a clear message to Russia that this cannot continue.”
After the Cold War, Helsinki maintained good relations with Moscow.
Incumbent President Sauli Niinistö, who is retiring after two six-year terms, was proud of his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but has since become one of Putin’s harshest critics. became.
Against this backdrop, presidential candidates are defending both Finland’s independence and its new role as a NATO member, said Hanna Wass, deputy dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki.
“They all seem to have strong ideas that emphasize self-sufficiency,” Wass told AFP. Both candidates added that they believed Finland should “actively contribute to building a common European defense and Nordic cooperation.”
Tuomas Forsberg, a foreign policy professor at Tampere University, said a similar stance would lead to more emphasis on candidate character in elections.
“This will be focused on the selection of individuals, looking at their credibility and trustworthiness and their perceived qualities as foreign policy leaders,” Forsberg said.
experienced realist
Mr. Stubbe served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015, and Mr. Haavisto held several cabinet positions.
“These are two very experienced, pragmatic politicians who know what they’re talking about,” Ojanen said.
“It will be interesting to see what kind of discussions are made to clarify the differences between the two,” she added.
Forsberg noted that while Haavist and Stubbe share similar political views, they represent different backgrounds.
“Aleks is more of a representative of the right, and Haavist is a representative of the left, even if he chooses the center as a Green Party,” Forsberg said.
A second round of voting could prove decisive in the election debate, he added.
“As the campaign progresses, the differences will become clearer,” Harvist told Yale on Sunday evening.
(AFP)