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Vote counting was underway in Finland on Sunday night time in a presidential race that comes because the nation, NATO’s latest member, faces the specter of an antagonistic Russia.
The election, which is predicted to require a second spherical of voting, is for Finland’s first new head of state in 12 years. The nation’s wildly fashionable president, Sauli Niinistö, has served two phrases and is ineligible to run once more.
Seen as a steadying power, Mr. Niinistö is taken into account the individual most liable for getting Finland into the NATO alliance, leaving whoever assumes the presidency with massive footwear to fill.
From a discipline of 9 candidates, the most recent pre-election polls confirmed two front-runners: Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto. Each are acquainted faces with robust international coverage credentials.
Polling stations had been busy on Sunday within the capital, Helsinki, the place a gentle stream of voters braved near-freezing temperatures and icy sidewalks to solid their ballots within the Lauttasaari district. Volunteers greeted them cheerfully and welcomed them in from the chilly.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. native time, and outcomes had been anticipated to return in later Sunday. If no candidate receives greater than half of the vote, a runoff election might be held on Feb. 11 between the highest two first-round finishers.
Whereas most European presidents occupy largely ceremonial roles, Finland’s drives international coverage and serves because the commander in chief. That helped catapult Mr. Niinistö to international prominence after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — and cemented his approval score, which exceeds 90 p.c.
“An important determination of Sauli Niinistö’s presidency was to affix NATO,” the retired political journalist Unto Hämäläinen wrote within the present challenge of Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat journal. “His time period might be remembered for that after many years.”
The incoming president won’t solely draw comparisons with Mr. Niinistö however will even be anticipated to construct on his legacy, analysts mentioned. Firstly might be managing Finland’s integration into NATO amid issues about potential Russian aggression and escalating tensions within the Baltic Sea area.
“The expectations are fairly excessive for the successor,” mentioned Juhana Aunesluoma, a professor of political historical past on the College of Helsinki.
Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia, together with a combative historical past. The neighbors have fought quite a few wars via the centuries, and Finns have robust reminiscences of the 1939 Winter Battle and World Battle II, when their nation fought the Soviet Union and misplaced territory. With the conflict in Ukraine persevering with and Finnish officers accusing Russia of efforts to destabilize their nation, analysts say that safety is the primary challenge on voters’ minds.
That’s the reason, they are saying, voters are searching for a president with the broadest attainable expertise in international coverage, which the candidate pool displays.
“Even the liberal candidates have adopted a line that stresses army preparedness and border safety,” mentioned Johanna Vuorelma, a researcher on the College of Helsinki’s Heart for European Research.
Mr. Haavisto is making his third presidential run after shedding to Mr. Niinistö prior to now two elections. A founding father of the center-left Greens Social gathering, Mr. Haavisto first ran for Parliament in 1987 and has been a staple of Finnish politics since, serving as a lawmaker, a U.N. official and in a number of authorities roles. Most not too long ago, he was Finland’s international minister from 2019 to 2023.
Mr. Stubb can also be a former international minister and a former prime minister. A outstanding member of the middle proper, he left Finnish politics in 2017 and swore to not return, however he has mentioned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine modified his thoughts.
That has made the variations of their personalities all of the extra vital to voters, in accordance with analysts. Because the marketing campaign season received into full swing this previous summer season, every candidate has toured Finland to satisfy voters at colleges, gasoline stations, purchasing malls and markets. Mr. Stubb, an Ironman triathlete, has usually appeared at sporting occasions. Mr. Haavisto has adopted the stage identify “DJ Pexi” and spun data at scholar occasions to enchantment to youthful voters.
Debates have been dignified and well mannered, a distinction to parliamentary election campaigns, which are sometimes rowdy. Each Mr. Haavisto and Mr. Stubb have solid themselves as unifiers through the marketing campaign, almost definitely due to expectations that the election will go to a runoff.
Voter turnout in Finland, a rustic of 5.6 million individuals, has tended to be round or above 70 p.c for presidential elections. Greater than 1.8 million Finns, or 44 p.c of the nation’s eligible voters, solid their ballots in early voting, in accordance with preliminary knowledge.
Cassandra Vinograd contributed reporting from London.
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