Stubb and Haavisto continue to second round in Finland's presidential race

Centre-right candidate Alexander Stubb of Finland's National Coalition Party narrowly won the first round of the country's presidential election on Sunday and will face liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto in a run-off, official data showed, Report informs via Reuters.

With all votes counted, Stubb came first with 27.2% support, followed by Haavisto on 25.8%, and nationalist Jussi Halla-aho third with 19.0% support. A run-off between the top two will be held on Feb. 11.

Finland is electing a new president to lead the country's foreign and security policy in its new role within NATO after it broke with decades of non-alignment to join the Western defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"You know what, we made it to the final, but the competition will only begin now," Stubb, a former prime minister, told his supporters.

Stubb's rival for the second round, former foreign minister Haavisto, is a human rights defender who has worked also as a peace negotiator.

Haavisto would become Finland's first openly gay president if elected.

"Now our task is to reach those whose candidate is not in the second round," Haavisto said in a speech to his supporters.

Voter turnout stood at 74.9%, official data showed, up from 69.9% in the last presidential election in 2018.

Finland's president leads on foreign and security policy in close cooperation with the government and represents the country at NATO meetings, while also acting as a commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The new president will take the helm of Finland's foreign and security policy from incumbent Sauli Niinisto, who is retiring after two consecutive six-year terms.

Both Stubb and Haavisto are supporters of Ukraine and have called for tough measures against Russia.