With all the votes counted on Sunday evening, it was clear that Finnish-Swedish Alexander Stubb received the most, 27.1 percent, just over a percentage point more than Pekka Havisto’s 25.7 percent.
Since at least 50 percent of the vote is required to win the presidential election, this means that there will be a second round of elections on February 11. The new president takes office on March 1.
– We went to the final! But you know what, the fight is only starting now, Alexander Stubb told his supporters during the election vigil, according to Svenska Yle.
On Åland and in the capital region of Helsinki, Haavisto was a clear favourite. There he collected 50.4 and 37.1 percent, respectively. Stubb was popular in Nyland and Vaasa, among others.
Already when the advance votes had been counted at 7pm on Sunday, everything pointed towards a second round. The advance votes were unusually numerous this year and gave a clear indication of the outcome of the election. Alexander Stubb then had the lead with 28.3 percent of the votes and the runner-up Pekka Haavisto had 25.8 percent.
Pekka Haavisto is running as an independent candidate in the presidential election. Photo: Antii Aimo-Koivisto/AFP
In third place the True Finns’ former party leader Jussi Halla-aho came with 19 percent of the votes and in fourth place is the Centre’s candidate Olli Rehn with 15.4 percent. The left-wing candidate Li Andersson and the Social Democrats’ candidate Jutta Urpilainen have just under five percent each.
Facts. This is how the presidential election went
Alexander Stubb, Samlingspartiet, 27.2%
Pekka Haavisto, obunde (stöds av De Gröna), 25.8%
Jussi Halla-aho, Sannfinländarna, 19%
Olli Rehn, independent (supported by the Center), 15.3%
Li Andersson, Left Alliance, 4.9%
Jutta Urpilainen, Social Democratic Party, 4.3%
Sari Essayah, Kristdemokraterna, 1.5%
Mika Aaltola, obunden, 1.5%
Harry Harkimo, Movement Now, 0.5%
Source: Yle (99.9 percent of votes counted)
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Journalist Torbjörn Kevin speaks Hufvudstadsbladet att han tror att many of Urpilainens and Anderssons väljare har rostat taktiskt på Haavisto, då Sannfinländarnas Halla-aho knappat in på honom i seletut av valkampanjen. Åsa von Schoultz, Professor in statistics science at the university of Helsingfors, is on the same track.
– You can have the motive to have prevented a candidate you dislike, in this case Jussi Halla-aho. Above all, those who lean ideologically to the left have a very difficult time with him, says Åsa von Schoultz to Svenska Yle.
True Finns’ candidate Jussi Halla-aho failed to reach the second election round. Photo: Emmi Korhonen/AFP
Stump was Finland’s Prime Minister between the years 2014 and 2015. He has a long career in foreign policy behind him and has also served as Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. Stubb is running as the Samlingspartiet’s candidate.
Haavisto is running as an independent candidate supported by De Gröna as his representative in the Riksdag. Haavisto has a background as minister in several Finnish governments, most recently as foreign minister in Sanna Marin’s government between 2019 and 2023. He is Finland’s first openly gay presidential candidate.
Voter turnout was 74.9 percent, which is the highest turnout since 1994 when 82 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. In 2012, the last time there was a second round of the presidential election in Finland, turnout dropped slightly in the second round.
