Finns vote today to elect next president

The first round of the presidential election will be held today across the country.

A total of 42, 46,803 Finns will exercise their right of franchise in the election scheduled to be held from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm at about 2,200 polling centres.

More than 36 per cent of the voters have already cast their votes in advance, as 1.527 million voters took part in the advance voting.

If no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the votes, a second round run-off involving the two candidates who have received the most support will be held on February 11.

The elected president’s term will be from March 1, 2018 to March 1, 2024.

The incumbent President Sauli Niinistö is running as an independent candidate this time. The ruling Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party) candidate Matti Vanhanen, Tuula Haatainen, nominated by the main opposition Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP), Pekka Haavisto of the Vihreä Liitö (Green League), the Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance) candidate Merja Kyllönen, Nils Torvalds of the Suomenruotsalainenkansanpuolue (Swedish People’s Party of Finland-RKP), Laura Huhtasaari from the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), and independent candidate Paavo Väyrynen are contesting the polls.

The Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) and the Suomen Kristillisdemokraatit (Christian Democrats of Finland) Party are backing Niinistö in the election.

The preliminary results of the voting will be released over the course of the evening. The election results will be updated every five minutes until all the votes have been counted.

The election results for each candidate will be given for the whole country, and by electoral district, municipality and polling area.

The final voting results will be published on January 30 Tuesday.