Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for a six-year term. Incumbent president Sauli Niinistö was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring that the president elected would be the country's thirteenth.
Had the new president been elected in the first round on 28 January by winning more than half of valid votes cast, their term would have begun on 1 February. However, as no candidate received a majority of votes, Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto contested in a runoff on 11 February with Stubb winning 51.6% to Haavisto's 48.4%. The result in the second round was the closest in the history of presidential elections in Finland, followed by the 2000 presidential runoff. Stubb began his term as president on 1 March.
Background The presidential election was the first in Finland since it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2023 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ending decades of neutrality in foreign policy. The decision was supported by the outgoing president Sauli Niinistö, whose constitutional position also makes him the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces and gives him responsibility for defence and foreign policy affairs. Niinistö, who is the only Finnish president to have been elected with an outright majority (62.7 percent) in the first round of voting in a direct popular election during his reelection in 2018, enjoyed over 90 percent popularity ratings since 2021. He rejected efforts by a citizen movement to allow him to run for a third term. An estimated 4.5 million people are eligible to vote in the 2024 election.
Candidates According to the Constitution of Finland, the president must be a natural-born Finnish citizen. In order to vote in the election, the person must be a Finnish citizen and at least 18 years of age. A candidate may be nominated by a registered political party that has secured at least a single representative in the parliament in the preceding parliamentary election, by a constituency association that has gathered at least 20 000 signatures from eligible voters, or both. The whole country acts as a single constituency.
Confirmed candidates Out of the nine confirmed candidates, three were officially running as constituency association candidates, although two also received the nomination of their respective parties. The rest were nominated by a political party. Candidate Political office(s) Campaign logo Details Name of the Candidate(Age)Political Party Image Mika Aaltola(54)Independent None Aaltola, the director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, gained media attention during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and emerged as a surprise candidate in multiple presidential surveys. He announced his candidacy on 3 August 2023. Li Andersson(36)Left Alliance Leader of the Left Alliance(since 2016) Andersson served as Minister of Education in the Marin Cabinet from 2019 to 2020 and again from 2021 to 2023. She is the current leader of the Left Alliance. Anderson has consistently been one of the most popular candidates in her own electoral district. Sari Essayah(56)Christian Democrats Minister of Agriculture and Forestry(since 2023) Essayah has served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Orpo Cabinet since 2023. Essayah had a successful career in sports before entering politics. She is the current leader of the Christian Democrats. Pekka Haavisto(65)Independent (Green League) MP for Helsinki(1987–1995, since 2007) Haavisto, a Green League politician and United Nations diplomat, has run as a candidate for the office of President twice before, in 2012 and 2018, both times finishing second behind the incumbent President Sauli Niinistö. He is running as a candidate of a constituency association with the endorsement of the Green League. Jussi Halla-aho(52)Finns Party Speaker of the Parliament of Finland(since 2023) Halla-aho is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Finland. Before entering national politics, he was best known for criticising multiculturalism and Finland's immigration policies in his popular online blog. Hjallis Harkimo(70)Movement Now Leader of Movement Now (since 2018) Harkimo is a businessman who has led his own political party, Movement Now, since 2018. Harkimo, who made a career as an investor in sports, also hosted the Finnish version of The Apprentice. Olli Rehn(61)Independent (Centre Party) Governor of the Bank of Finland (since 2018) Rehn is an economist who has served as the governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. He previously served as a European Commissioner from 2004 to 2014. Rehn runs in the election as a candidate of a constituency association with the endorsement of the Centre Party. Alexander Stubb(55)National Coalition Party 43rd Prime Minister of Finland (2014–2015) Stubb began his career in politics in 2004, when he was elected to the European Parliament. After holding several offices as a minister, he served as the Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. In the summer of 2017, Stubb was appointed Vice President of the European Investment Bank. He currently serves as a professor and the head of a unit at the European University Institute. Jutta Urpilainen(48)Social Democratic Party of Finland European Commissioner for International Partnerships(since 2019) Urpilainen is the incumbent European Commissioner from Finland. A long-time MP and leader of the Social Democratic Party, she served as the Minister of Finance from 2011 to 2014.
Unsuccessful candidacies
The following notable individuals sought to register as independent candidates, but were unable to collect the 20,000 supporter cards required for registration:
Candidate name and age,political party Political office(s) Campaign logo Details Ano Turtiainen(56) MP for Southeast Finland(2019–2023) Turtiainen is a former Member of Finnish Parliament for the Finns Party. After he was expelled from the party due to him posting a tweet perceived as mocking the murder of George Floyd in February 2021, he founded his own Power Belongs to the People party. In the end of August 2023, Turtiainen announced in his YouTube channel that he would be his party's candidate for the 2024 presidential election. Turtiainen believed that he would get help from Russia to collect the 20,000 endorsement cards needed for the official candidacy. Paavo Väyrynen(77) MEP for Finland(1995–2007, 2014–2018) Väyrynen, a veteran politician, participated in the previous presidential elections as the Centre Party candidate on three occasions, securing the second position in 1988, third in 1994, and third in 2012. In 2018, he participated as an independent candidate and finished fourth. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Väyrynen was the favorite as the next president of around 2% of the respondents.
Campaign
Mika Aaltola Mika Aaltola, the director of Finnish Institute of International Affairs, announced his candidacy on 3 August 2023. He is running as an independent candidate, and therefore must assemble 20,000 signatures from qualified voters to establish a constituency association in order to run for the presidency. Aaltola emerged as a surprise candidate in a presidential survey published by Yle on 28 March 2022. On 27 May 2022, similar results were obtained from a survey conducted by Ilta-Sanomat. Aaltola commented that he was humbled by the results and that "In a situation where the candidates would solely represent Finlandization and behind-the-scenes dealings, I would feel a calling to attempt the impossible for the benefit of my homeland. Therefore, my stance would entirely depend on the candidate lineup."
In a subsequent survey published by Ilta-Sanomat on 21 October 2022, Aaltola had unexpectedly risen to the top. After the results, Aaltola stated: "There is a one percent chance that I will become the President of Finland." He did not completely rule out his candidacy and stated that he would announce a possible candidacy at a later time. On 31 October 2022, Aaltola tweeted: "I am not currently running for any position. My focus is on the ongoing war and the geopolitical challenges of the winter." On 4 November 2022, Helsingin Sanomat published a comprehensive personal profile and interview with Aaltola. Many of the sources interviewed in the article noted that Aaltola no longer behaves like an expert but rather speaks like a preacher or a politician. The same day Aaltola tweeted, that "I have no intention of running for the presidential elections."
On 11 April 2023, Aaltola tweeted that "My support in presidential surveys remains persistently encouraging, even though I have stated a practical "no" on multiple occasions. This was based on the fact that it is practically impossible [to win] outside of political parties. Should I reconsider the matter in the autumn if the support persists?" In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Aaltola was the favorite as the next president of around 13% of the respondents. On 10 October 2023 Mika Aaltola's support association announced that they had collected 25,000 endorsement cards for Aaltola, exceeding the required 20,000 endorsement card threshold for candidacy.
Li Andersson Li Andersson, the leader of the Left Alliance and former Minister of Education, announced her candidacy on 13 September 2023. She was confirmed as the Left Alliance candidate at a party council meeting on 15 October 2023.
Sari Essayah Sari Essayah, the leader of the Christian Democrats and incumbent Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, was chosen as the party's presidential candidate at a party meeting on 27 August 2023.
Pekka Haavisto Pekka Haavisto, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for the Green League, announced his candidacy on 8 June 2023. Haavisto has run for the office twice before, in 2012 and 2018, both times finishing second behind the incumbent President Sauli Niinistö. Haavisto is running as an independent candidate in the presidential elections. The collection of signatures in support of Haavisto began immediately on the same day he announced his candidacy.
According to multiple polls, Haavisto is currently the leading candidate for the presidency. He is the most popular candidate among women and younger voters, as well as across party lines. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Haavisto was the favorite as the next president of around 28% percent of the respondents. In a presidential survey published by Ilta-Sanomat on 13 June 2023, which aimed to determine the potential result of a hypothetical second round in the presidential elections, Haavisto emerged as the winner when compared to all the other major potential candidates.
On 3 October 2023, Haavisto's campaign announced that they had so far collected 48,000 endorsement cards, exceeding the required 20,000 endorsement card threshold for candidacy. Should Haavisto win the election, he would be the first openly gay person to become President of Finland.
Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Halla-aho, the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland and a Member of Parliament for the Finns Party, announced his candidacy on 7 July 2023. His candidacy was confirmed by the party congress in August. In a survey conducted by Uutissuomalainen in January 2023 among party delegates, over 80 percent of respondents considered Halla-aho the most suitable presidential candidate for the party. In a similar survey conducted in summer 2021, Halla-aho ranked behind Laura Huhtasaari. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Halla-aho was the favorite as the next president of around 6% of the respondents.
Hjallis Harkimo