- Sauli Niinistö, 63, is Finland's 12th President, after defeating Pekka Haavisto by a wide margin of 62.6% to 37.4%
- Turnout was disappointingly low at 68.8% for Finland standards
Helsinki, Feb.5.─ With all the votes now in and counted, Finland has a new President from the National Coalition Party.
Sauli Niinistö, 63, a former Finance Minister and Speaker of Parliament, defeated Pekka Haavisto (Greens) by a margin of 62.6% to 37.4% and becomes the first non-Social Democrat head of state in Finland since 1982.
On a bitterly cold election day, the turnout in the election fell by around four points from the first round to hit just 68.8%, the lowest figure since 1950.
To some extent the low turnout on Sunday (36.6% had already voted in advance) was a climatic phenomenon, but it is clear that in certain areas of the country neither of the two finalists met with the approval of those sections of the electorate who had lost their candidate in the first round ...
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