Former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the presidential election in Finland on Sunday against his rival Pekka Haavisto, in a vote marked by tensions with neighboring Russia since the country's accession to NATO.
“Alexander, congratulations to the 13th president of Finland,” Pekka Haavisto, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Greens, conceded on public television, but who was running as an independent.
4.3 million voters called to the polls
Alexander Stubb received 51.7% of the votes, after the counting of 98.3% of the ballots.
70.7% of some 4.3 million voters came to vote in this second round.
“The only thing I think about now is recognition.
This is a great victory for democracy in Finland, I am extremely proud of all Finns who voted,” said the winner when the provisional results were published.
Former Prime Minister and leader of the conservative national party, away from Finnish political life for seven years, Alexander Stubb, 55, is making a thunderous return to the top of Finnish politics.
Russia and NATO at the heart of the presidential election
Endowed with limited powers compared to the Prime Minister, the head of state, elected for six years, directs the country's foreign policy in close cooperation with the government.
He is also supreme commander of the armed forces.
A notable role which has become even more important due to geopolitical developments in Europe and the entry into NATO of Finland, which shares 1,340 km of border with Russia.
Neutral during the Cold War, the Nordic country ended three decades of military non-alignment after the invasion of Ukraine.
It became a member of the Atlantic Alliance last year, to the great dismay of Russia, which promised to respond with “countermeasures”.
At the end of August, Finland faced an influx of migrants on its eastern border, accusing Moscow of orchestrating a migration crisis on its doorstep.
Helsinki closed its border with its neighbor in November, a measure supported by all the candidates.
Strengthening sanctions
The two candidates Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto, both former foreign ministers, shared the same vision on the position to adopt towards Russia with a strengthening of sanctions against Russia.
The difference between the candidates, both liberals, came down in particular to the question of the storage and transport of nuclear weapons in Finland.
Pekka Haavisto did not want to authorize them, although as a member of NATO, the Nordic country must participate in exercises relating to the Alliance's nuclear policy.
Alexander Stubb, for his part, estimated that the country should not exclude “any part” of NATO's nuclear deterrence policy.