The first results of the elections in Finland show a tie between the Social Democrats – the party of Prime Minister Sanna Marin – and the center-right National Coalition.
With 45% of the votes counted, the coalition has 20.7% of the votes, compared to 20.7% for Sanna Marin’s party. The far-right Finnish Party appears in third place with 18.7%.
“We will take our time, but now we have a good start, a very good start,” National Coalition leader Petteri Orpo told reporters in Helsinki.
Significant changes to the results are still possible as more votes are counted, with full results expected between 10pm and midnight (7pm and 9pm in mainland Portugal).
Traditionally, the largest of the eight major parties in parliament gets the first chance to build a government, and since the 1990s, the largest party has always held the prime minister’s office.
“I am really grateful for all the wishes that have been expressed so far,” said Sanna Marin in Helsinki.
In early voting results, the Finnish party lags far behind their opponents, but they traditionally improve their position as more votes are counted on election day.
“You have to be in suspense for a long time. In 2019, we went up after the first ballots,” said far-right leader Riikka Purra.
Source: TSF
