By Elviira Luoma and Canan Sevgili
(Reuters) – Finland holds a presidential election on Jan. 28 in a new era marked by the country joining the Western military alliance NATO last April in response to neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Support for front-runners Alexander Stubb of the centre-right National Coalition Party and liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto has eased ahead of Sunday’s poll, while their nationalist Finns Party rival Jussi Halla-aho has gained, a Verian survey showed on Monday.
Here is a guide to the election:
WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FINLAND’S PRESIDENT?
Finland’s president leads foreign and security policy and represents the country at NATO’s meetings.
The president also acts as a commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, deciding on any significant changes in military preparedness.
The president appoints and discharges ministers, some high-ranking civil servants and Supreme Court judges. At the prime minister’s request, the president can, if justified, order an early parliamentary election.
HOW IS THE FINNISH PRESIDENT ELECTED?
The president, who must be a native born Finnish citizen, is directly elected by universal suffrage for a six-year term.
To win the presidency in the first round, a candidate must obtain more than 50% of ballots cast. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote on Jan. 28, a second-round run-off will be held on Feb. 11 between top two candidates.
Since swapping from an electoral college to a direct popular vote in 1994, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms.
Presidential candidates are nominated either by registered political parties or by constituency associations established by 20,000 people entitled to vote.
WHAT TIME IS VOTING?
Polls will open at 0900 EET (0700 GMT) and close at 2000 EET (1800 GMT) on Jan. 28.
The advance voting period ran from Jan. 17 to 23 in Finland, which could account for more than half of all votes cast as it did in the previous presidential election in 2018.
WHEN WILL THE RESULT BE KNOWN?
Results from advance voting will be confirmed soon after polls close on Sunday.
Full results are expected as vote count progresses, most likely before midnight local time (before 2200 GMT) on Sunday.
On Jan. 30, the first-round results will be officially confirmed.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:
ALEXANDER STUBB
The 55-year-old, multilingual presidential front-runner Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party is known as a pro-European, who previously served as prime minister and foreign minister and as a member of the European Parliament.
In 2017, Stubb left Finnish politics to become vice president of the European Investment Bank and later director at the European University Institute in Florence, before returning to contest the presidential election.
PEKKA HAAVISTO
Liberal Pekka Haavisto, a Green League member and former United Nations diplomat, has run for president twice before, in 2012 and 2018, both times finishing second behind retiring President Sauli Niinisto.
The 65-year-old centre-left front-runner Haavisto served as Finland’s foreign minister from 2019 to 2023 and held other ministerial positions before that. If elected, Haavisto would become Finland’s first openly gay president.
JUSSI HALLA-AHO
Nationalist Jussi Halla-aho, former Finns Party leader and now parliament speaker, is a stern critic of the EU and immigration who was fined by the country’s Supreme Court for racist remarks in 2012.
A divisive figure, Halla-aho is third in polls and rising, being particularly popular among young people.
OLLI REHN
Bank of Finland Governor and ECB governing council member on leave of absence, Olli Rehn, 61, is a member of the Centre Party and former EU economy commissioner. The latest polls have placed him fourth with 12% support.
Other candidates include Social Democrat EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, Christian Democrat party leader Sari Essayah, Left Alliance leader Li Andersson, academic Mika Aaltola and businessman Harry Harkimo.
