Voters in Finland are choosing on Sunday between two experienced politicians as their next president, whose main task will be to manage the foreign and security policy of the country that became a member of NATO after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
About 4,3 million voters will have to choose between 55-year-old former conservative Prime Minister Aleksandar Stub and 65-year-old former foreign minister Peka Havist, a Green Party MP who is running as an independent candidate.
Stub and Havisto largely agree on Finland's foreign policy and security priorities, which include continuing a strong stance toward Moscow and Russia's current leadership, strengthening security ties with Washington, and the need to help Ukraine on both the military and civilian levels.
Unlike most European countries, the president of Finland has executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government, especially when it comes to countries outside the European Union such as the US, Russia and China.
The head of state also commands the military – which is particularly important in the current security environment in Europe and the changed geopolitical situation of Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023, following Russia's attack on Ukraine a year earlier.
Stub from the conservative National Coalition Party is the favorite in the elections, as he finished in first place with 28 percent of the votes in the first round on January 27,2. He led the government in 2014-2015, and previously held several other positions in the cabinet.
Havisto, who won 25,8 percent of the vote in the first round, was the head of diplomacy 2019-2023 and the main negotiator for Finland's entry into NATO.
According to an Ila public opinion poll published on Thursday, Stub would get 54 percent of the vote, compared to 46 percent for Havista.
The winner will succeed the highly popular President Sauli Niinist, whose second six-year term expires in March and is ineligible to run again.
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