Finland Election: Voting Gets Underway As PM Sanna Marin Eyes 2nd Term In 3-Cornered Fight

Sanna Marin, at 37 is one of Europe’s youngest leaders, who took over the leadership of the Social Democrats Party in 2019.

Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties are vying for 200 seats in the parliament in Finland.

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New Delhi: The parliamentary elections in Finland began on Sunday amid incumbent Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats Party (SDP) fighting hard to keep its post in an extremely close race between right-wing populists, conservatives and centre left.

The elections are taking place days after Finland cleared its last hurdle in its bid to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to reports, over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties are vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic country’s parliament, the Eduskunta.

“Of course, we hope that the Social Democrats will win this election. It's so important because we want to stay in an open society. We also want to work together internationally. We want to build a better green sustainable future where people have the same opportunities in life," news agency AP quoted PM Marin as saying while campaigning in central Helsinki.

Although PM Marin remains popular at home, her party’s views on the Finnish economy that emerged as the main campaign theme, were being challenged by her two main opponents - the centre-right National Coalition Party led by Petteri Orpo and right-wing populist The Finns Party, which is led by Riikka Purra.

Sanna Marin, at 37 is one of Europe’s youngest leaders, who took over the leadership of the SDP in 2019.

Going by the recent polls, each of the three parties could garner about 20 per cent of the votes. If that happens, no party would be in a position to form the government alone. In that case, whichever party manages to bag the maximum number of votes is expected to begin talks in the next few days on forming a governing coalition.

It is to be noted that polls in the country will come to an end at 17.00 GMT (12 pm Eastern), while the initial results are likely to be declared by midnight, as per AP report.