Centre-right Stubb leads Finland's presidential vote in early results

NCP presidential candidate Alexander Stubb campaigns in Helsinki, Finland, January 11, 2024. Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen via REUTERS

By Anne Kauranen and Tom Little

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party led in the run-off of Finland’s presidential election on Sunday, with 52.7% support from ballots cast in advance, justice ministry data showed.

A pedestrian stands next next to posters of Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto, candidates in the second round of the Finnish presidential elections, in Helsinki, Finland, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/ Tom Little

The liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto was behind him at 47.3% support, with 58.3% of the votes counted, the data showed.

Finland elects a new head of state who will also be responsible for its security and foreign policy. The winner is expected to be known by around 2100 GMT.

Stubb, a former prime minister, won the first round on Jan. 28 with 27.2% of the vote ahead of Haavisto on 25.8%. He has also led Haavisto in surveys, most recently by 6-8 percentage points.

Finnish presidential election candidate Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party attends a campaign event in Espoo, Finland, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/ Tom Little

The vote marks a new era in Finland, which for decades has elected presidents to foster diplomacy, in particular with neighbouring Russia, and opted not to join military alliances so it could soothe tensions between Moscow and NATO.

National Coalition Party’s (NCP) presidential candidate Alexander Stubb campaigns in Vantaa, Finland, February 10, 2024, one day ahead of the decisive second round of the Finnish presidential election. Stubb heads for the second round run-off with Green Party backed candidate for a nonpartisan constituency association Pekka Haavisto. Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa via REUTERS

But Finns changed their minds about playing that role after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in a rapid U-turn that led to the country joining NATO in April last year.

Now under the Western alliance’s security umbrella, the new president will replace Sauli Niinisto, who is retiring after two six-year terms in which he earned the nickname “the Putin Whisperer” for his previous close ties with the Russian leader.

Niinisto’s successor will have a central role in defining Finland’s NATO policies, while taking the lead on overall foreign and security policy in close cooperation with the government and acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

(Reporting by Anne Kauranen, Tom Little and Essi Lehto in Helsinki, Editing by Kylie MacLellan, Sharon Singleton and Hugh Lawson)

National Coalition Party’s (NCP) presidential candidate Alexander Stubb poses with fans as he campaigns in Vantaa, Finland, February 10, 2024, one day ahead of the decisive second round of the Finnish presidential election. Stubb heads for the second round run-off with Green Party backed candidate for a nonpartisan constituency association Pekka Haavisto. Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa via REUTERS