Ex-PM Alexander Stubb wins Finnish presidency, narrowly defeating former top diplomat Pekka Haavisto

Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won Finland’s presidential election runoff on Sunday against former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a close race between two experienced politicians for the post of head of state, whose main task will be to steer the Nordic country’s foreign and security policy now that it is a member of NATO, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With over 99% of votes counted, center-right candidate Stubb of the conservative National Coalition Party had received 51.6% of the votes, while independent candidate Haavisto from the green left got 48.4% of the votes.

The 55-year-old Stubb, who was prime minister in 2014-2015 and started his political career as a lawmaker at the European Parliament, will become the 13th president of Finland since the Nordic country’s independence from the Russian empire in 1917.

Polls across the country closed at 8 p.m. (18:00 GMT).

Haavisto conceded defeat after a projection by the Finnish public broadcaster YLE showing a win for Stubb was released after 9 p.m. He shook Stubb’s hand and congratulated him at Helsinki City Hall, where the candidates and the media were watching the results come in.

Stubb and Haavisto, 65, were the main contenders in the election where over 4 million eligible voters picked a successor to hugely popular President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term expires in March. He wasn’t eligible for reelection.

Sunday’s runoff was required because none of the original nine candidates got more than half of the votes in Jan. 28 first round. Stubb emerged at the top with 27.3%, with Haavisto the runner-up on 25.8%.

Several polls indicated Stubb, who has also served as Finland’s foreign, finance and European affairs minister, was the favorite to win the presidency.

Initial voter turnout was 70.7%, markedly lower than during the first…