Voters in Finland go to the polls today for the parliamentary elections, with opinion polls showing the three biggest parties are in close contact and Prime Minister Sanna Marin fighting for her seat.

The conservative National Alliance party, led by former finance minister Petri Orpo, seemed to have a slight lead ahead of the election, but recent polls show it narrowly ahead of far-right Finns Riiki Pura and Marin’s social democrats.

Polling stations in the northernmost EU country they will be open until 20:00 (local and Greek time). The first results, based on advance voting, are expected to be known shortly after polls close, with provisional final results available around midnight.

Marin, 37, has been Finland’s prime minister since late 2019, leading a five-party centre-left coalition. The candidate of the party that emerges first is traditionally the prime minister in Finland – an unwritten rule that has been observed without exception since 1987 – provided that he can win a majority in parliament.

In any case, these elections are of particular interest, as the three main candidates are engaged in a controversial struggle, and Finland is preparing to write a new page in its history with NATO membership in the coming days.

The country’s parliament has 200 seats. Forming a government takes an average of six weeks.

Marin is expected to at least be named acting prime minister next week when Finland formally joins NATO, following the final required green light from Turkey on Thursday. It is expected that the result of the elections will not affect this process, since all major parties are in favor of the country’s entry into the NATO alliance.

Source: AFP, DPA, APE-MPE.