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Former PM Stubb wins Finland presidential polls

Published : Tuesday, 13 February, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 350
HELSINKI, Feb 12: Former conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb won Sundays Finnish presidential election, assuming a role that has gained importance in light of the countrys NATO membership and rising tensions with neighbouring Russia.

Some 4.3 million voters were choosing between Stubb and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, a Green Party MP running as an independent.

"Well, Alexander. Congratulations to Finlands 13th president," Haavisto told Stubb on live television, as he conceded after broadcaster Yle projected that Stubb had won with 51.4 percent. When all votes were counted, the final tally gave Stubb 51.6 percent of the vote.

Stubb, who called the win "the greatest honour of my life," will assume office on March 1.

The changing geopolitical landscape in Europe will be the main challenge for the new head of state, who -- while having limited powers compared to the prime minister -- guides the countrys foreign policy together with the government and acts as supreme commander of Finlands armed forces.

"It is absolutely incredible that a country the size of Finland can have such a fair and honest election in this security policy context," Stubb declared in a victory speech to supporters.

Relations between Moscow and Helsinki deteriorated following Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine, prompting Finland to drop decades of military non-alignment and join NATO in April 2023. Russia, with whom Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border, swiftly warned of "countermeasures".

"The International political situation is really demanding for us at the moment and I think we really need a president who can work with different political parties and who can negotiate," 46-year-old doctor Maarit Tarkiainen told AFP in Helsinki.    —AFP



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