In Finland they failed to elect a president in the first round. No one received more than 50% of the votes; as a result, a second round will take place on February 11, according to a message published on the website of the Finnish Election Commission.
Participating in it will be the candidate of the center-right National Coalition Party, Alexander Stubb, who received just over 27% of the vote, and Green Union party member Pekka Haavisto (25.8%).
Now a struggle for the presidency will unfold between them.
The remaining seven candidates did not get even 20%: the ex-leader of the far-right Finns Party Jussi Halla-aho received 19%, the head of the Bank of Finland, a member of the centrist Finnish Center party Olli Rehn – 15.3%. The turnout was 75%.
The current president of the country, Sauli Niiniste, did not participate in the elections, since he had already held the presidential post for 12 years – two terms, and according to the laws of Finland, the same candidate cannot be in power for more than two terms in a row.
It was previously reported that during the presidential race in Finland, one of the main topics was security issues and relations with Russia – all presidential candidates took a tough position towards Moscow. According to RT, Alexander Stubb, among other things, advocated an alliance with the United States and the admission of Ukraine to NATO and the EU, and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto advocated closing the Finnish border with the Russian Federation.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
