Ballot Box Watch: Your Guide to February Elections

Finland

Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva / Reuters

National Coalition candidate Sauli Niinisto and Green Party candidate Pekka Haavisto are seen at the Helsinki Music Hall after the first round of the Finnish presidential elections in Helsinki Jan. 22, 2012. Niinisto and Haavisto advanced to the second round of the elections, which are held on February 5, 2012.

The second round of the Scandinavian country’s Feb. 5 presidential election will be historic for at least one reason: the 30-year rule of the Social Democrats will come to an end. The first vote on Jan. 22 saw two pro-euro candidates make the run-off and the nationalist anti-immigration Finns Party suffer a heavy setback, according to the AFP. Former Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto led solidly with just under 37% of the vote, while pro-European Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto claimed second place. Finland’s current president, Tarja Halonen, has reached her two-term limit after serving 12 years. She defeated Niinisto, of the conservative National Coalition Party, in 2006. The new challenger, Haavisto, is Finland’s first openly gay presidential candidate, according to local media. Turnout was high in the opening round, at 73% of Finland’s 4.4 million eligible voters, CNN reports.

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