Ex-PM wins first round of Finland’s presidential vote

— Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland’s presidential election Sunday and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.

The vote largely centered on the Nordic nation’s new role as a NATO front-line country with Russia, and the security situation in Europe, particularly Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

With all the votes counted, Stubb led the first round with 27.2 percent of the votes, while Haavisto, Finland’s top diplomat in 2019-2023, took second place with 25.8 percent. Parliamentary Speaker Jussi Halla-aho came in third with 19 percent, followed by Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn with 15.3 percent.

The first-round election result will be officially confirmed Tuesday. The result will push the race into a runoff on Feb. 11 between Stubb and Haavisto, because none of the candidates received more than half of the votes.

“Getting such a result together with the team is heartwarming. I am grateful and humbled by it,” Stubb told his supporters in an election party at a Helsinki restaurant, adding that he wasn’t planning major changes in his campaign for the second round of voting.

Stubb, 55, and Haavisto, 65, were the main contenders in the election. About 4.5 million eligible voters picked a successor out of nine candidates to replace hugely popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March. He wasn’t eligible for reelection.

Initial voter turnout was 74.9 percent.

Stubb represents the conservative National Coalition Party and headed the Finnish government in 20142015 and earlier held other key Cabinet posts, while veteran politician Haavisto, an ex-U.N. diplomat and Green League member, is running for the post for the third time as an independent candidate.