Centre-right Stubb leads Finland’s presidential vote in early results
Al Jazeera
Alexander Stubb of National Coalition Party leads in run-off with 58.3 percent of votes counted, ministry data shows.
Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party leads in the run-off of Finland’s presidential election, with 52.7 percent support from ballots cast in advance, justice ministry data has shown.
The liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto was behind him at 47.3 percent support, with 58.3 percent of the votes counted, the data showed.
Finland is electing 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 21:00 GMT on Sunday.
Stubb, a former prime minister, won the first round on January 28 with 27.2 percent of the vote ahead of Haavisto with 25.8 percent. He has also led Haavisto in surveys, most recently by 6-8 percentage points.
“A very good start to this evening. That feels good at the moment, but there are still plenty of votes to be counted,” Stubb said after seeing the early results.
