Finland’s president Niinisto on course for second term
Helsinki,(MILLAT ONLINE):Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is a pragmatic pro-EU conservative whose skill at balancing relations with
Moscow and Washington, amid heightened tensions is likely to get him re-elected for another six-year term
on Sunday.
Niinisto, 69, is running as an independent, placing himself above party politics to concentrate
on his top priority: getting Finland under the protection of the US missile shield without upsetting its powerful
Russian neighbour with whom it shares a 1,340-kilometre (833-mile) border.
Finns “want stability and don’t want change right now,” Juhana Aunesluoma, research director
at the University of Helsinki Network for European Studies, told AFP.
The latest opinion polls credit Niinisto with between 58 and 63 percent of votes, losing ground but
still far ahead of the seven other candidates. His main rival, Pekka Haavisto of the Green party, is seen
garnering around 13-14 percent support.
Should Niinisto be elected with more than 50 percent of votes in Sunday’s first round, it would be a
first since the Nordic country introduced a two-round presidential election by popular vote in 1994.
If necessary, a second round of voting will be held on February 11.