For decades, after World War II, Finland maintained political neutrality, while the Cold War conflict between the West and the Soviet Union and its satellite states raged.
After war broke out in Ukraine, the northern European country, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, decided it needed to align with the West.
Finland subsequently became a member of NATO, on 4 April 2023.
Now, in the run-up to its first election since joining the military alliance, Finns will decide the direction the country will take moving forward.
The two main candidates represent the mainstream of the left and right in Finnish politics, but the far-right candidate has risen in recent opinion polls.
Voting began this morning, with nine candidates bidding to become the 13th president of the Scandinavian nation.
Euronews reported:
The two main contenders, Alex Staub of the right-wing National Coalition Party and Green politician Pekka Haavisto, have a wealth of foreign policy experience – an important qualification for a role that is largely ceremonial, but retains constitutional leadership in foreign affairs. outside the European Union; The position is also held by the Supreme Commander of the Finnish Army.
Recent polls have put Stubb and Haavisto within a few percentage points of each other, at roughly 0.6% – and with neither candidate likely to get more than 50% in the first round, the top two candidates will head to a second round of voting. In February.
“There's definitely a sense of excitement,” said Havesto, who was campaigning in the D.C. area before polling day.
Unlike the unfortunate US elections that take a long time to count (and rig), the results in Finland come in quickly.
The Associated Press reported:
Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb is expected to win the first round of Finland's presidential election on Sunday and face runner-up Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.
Finnish public broadcaster YLE predicted that Stoop would win the first round of the presidential election with 27.3% of the vote, while Haavisto, the former foreign minister, came in second place with 25.8%. Parliament Speaker Jossi Hala-aho came in third place with 18.6%.
The expected result will push the race into a runoff on February 11 between Staub and Havesto, because neither candidate received more than half the votes.
Stubb represents the conservative National Coalition Party and was Finland's prime minister in 2014-2015, while veteran politician Haavisto, a former UN diplomat, is running for office for the third time as an independent candidate.
In Finland, the president formulates foreign and security policy, as well as acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces – an issue relevant to the current security environment in Europe.
Read more:
Finnish presidential candidate Staub: “NATO needs to be more European”
