Former conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, given favorites, will contest the second round of the presidential election in Finland on February 11.
Mr. Stubb came first in the first round on Sunday with 27.2% of the votes, ahead of Mr. Haavisto (25.8%), a member of the Greens who was running as an independent, according to the count of almost all the ballots in this election dominated by the theme of national security and tensions with Russia.
Once mentioned as a possible spoilsport of this election, the far-right candidate of the Finns Party, Jussi Halla-aho, comes clearly behind the leading duo with 19% of the votes.
Endowed with more limited powers than the Prime Minister, the head of state nevertheless directs foreign policy in close cooperation with the government and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
2024-01-28 21:45:13
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