Centre-right Stubb leads Finland's presidential race in poll

Centre-right Stubb leads Finland's presidential race in poll

Centre-right Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party is seen to lead liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto ahead of the run-off in Finland's presidential race on Feb. 11, a poll by Finland's largest daily Helsingin Sanomat showed on Tuesday.

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.

The poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday, after Stubb narrowly came first with 27.2% support in the opening round of the country's presidential election on Sunday, followed by Haavisto on 25.8%.

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When asked which of the two remaining candidates they would vote for now, 57% of respondents chose Stubb, while 43% said their vote would go to Haavisto, data collected online by pollster Verian for Helsingin Sanomat showed.

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 55-year-old Stubb is former prime minister and a pro-European cosmopolitan, who described himself as "moderate" in an interview with Reuters ahead of the election.

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

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