As of: February 11, 2024, 7:37 p.m
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Alexander Stubb wants to become president of Finland.
© Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/dpa
He already won the first round of elections, and now the first numbers from the runoff election see Alexander Stubb on his way to the presidential palace.
His opponent hasn't given up hope yet.
Helsinki - The conservative former head of government Alexander Stubb is heading for a victory in the runoff election for the presidency in Finland.
After the early votes were counted, the 55-year-old is several percentage points ahead of his competitor, the 65-year-old Green politician and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
However, the lead was not as clear as polls had predicted before election day.
In the first round of elections two weeks ago, the conservative Stubb and the Green politician Haavisto received the most votes of the nine candidates.
© Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
At that time, Stubb received 52.7 percent of the vote, Haavisto 47.3 percent.
It's a good start, but a lot of votes still need to be counted, said Stubb after the first numbers were published.
Haavisto said it was still possible to overtake Stubb.
You just have to wait and see.
A preliminary final result should be known during the election evening.
Since almost 46 percent of eligible voters residing in Finland cast their votes early, the evaluation of these almost two million ballot papers was already seen as a positive reflection of the vote.
In the first round of voting two weeks ago, Stubb and Haavisto received the most votes of all nine candidates.
In doing so, they eliminated other heavyweights in Finnish politics such as the right-wing populist parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho and the former EU currency commissioner Olli Rehn.
Stubb received 27.2 percent of the vote, Haavisto 25.8 percent.
However, because none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority, there was a runoff between the two strongest candidates.
Niinistö's successor sought
The new president will succeed the previous head of state Sauli Niinistö and will take office as scheduled on March 1st.
Niinistö was not allowed to run again after two six-year terms.
Under the impression of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, he led Finland into NATO after decades of military freedom from alliance - with the active support of Haavisto, who, as foreign minister at the time under Prime Minister Sanna Marin, signed the Nordic country's NATO accession document in April 2023.
Unlike in Germany, the president in Finland is elected directly by the people and he also plays a more active role in politics than in many other European countries.
His most important tasks include deciding on foreign and security policy together with the government, appointing members of the government and approving laws.
He is also Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces.
However, he largely stays out of domestic politics.
Finland borders Russia for a length of 1,340 kilometers.
With regard to its large neighbor to the east, the EU country had been trying for a long time to find an appropriate East-West balance.
However, as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine and the subsequent Finnish accession to NATO, relations with Moscow have deteriorated drastically.
The crossings along the Russian-Finnish border have been closed for several months, and just a few days ago the Finnish government extended this measure until mid-April.
The Finnish government accuses the Russian authorities of deliberately bringing asylum seekers to the border without the necessary documents in order to cause problems for Finland.
Alexander Stubb and his wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb voting in Espoo.
The former head of government goes into the runoff election as the slight favorite.
© Sergei Grits/AP/dpa
Both Stubb and Haavisto are considered pro-European and strong supporters of Ukraine.
The election was therefore not expected to have any major impact on Finland's Russia policy.
dpa