Advance ballot in 2nd round of presidential poll begins

Advance voting in the second round of the presidential election will be held in Finland from today (Wednesday) to February 6.

The advance voting will be also held abroad from Wednesday to February 3.

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto are contesting in the second round as they became the top two among the nine candidates in the first round of the election held on January 28.

Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) candidate Stubb narrowly led in the first round with 8,82,113 (27.2%) votes while his nearest contestant Haavisto of Vihreä Liitto (Green Party), who is contesting as a constituency association candidate secured 8,36,357 (25.8%) votes.

The candidate numbers of both the candidates will remain same as in the first round election where Stubb contested with number 8 and Haavisto with number 10.

The election will be held on February 11.

A total of 955 general advance polling stations were set up across the country for the election.

Abroad, there will be a total of 220 advance polling stations in 89 different countries, located at Finland's diplomatic and consular missions or their offices.

During the advance voting period, eligible voters may cast vote at any of the general advance polling stations in Finland or abroad.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency has sent a polling card to all eligible voters either by post or electronically via Suomi.fi Messages.

Voters must present proof of their identity at the polling station. Official photo IDs, such as passports, driving licences and identity cards issued by the police are accepted as proof of identity.

Voters who do not have a valid proof of identity can obtain a temporary identity card free of charge from the police for voting purposes.