Finns are voting on Sunday to choose their president, a role that has taken on greater importance since the country joined NATO and tensions with neighboring Russia have risen over the war in Ukraine, France Presse reported, according to Agerpres.

Some 4.3 million voters must choose between former Conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb, who won the first round on January 28 with 27.2% of the vote, and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, who is a member of the Greens but is running as an independent (25.8%).

A public opinion poll conducted Thursday by Yle Public Television showed Stubb with 54% of voters, compared to 46% for Haavisto.

With limited powers compared to those of the prime minister, the head of state, who is elected for a six-year term, manages the country’s foreign policy in close cooperation with the government.

He is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.

This important role has become even more important in light of geopolitical events in Europe and Finland’s accession to NATO, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia.

Having maintained neutrality during the Cold War, the Scandinavian country, a longtime advocate of dialogue between the West and Russia, abandoned military non-alignment three decades after the invasion of Ukraine.

It became a member of the Atlantic alliance last year, to the dismay of Russia, which has vowed to respond with countermeasures.

In late August, Finland faced an influx of migrants at its eastern border, accusing Moscow of orchestrating a migration crisis on its doorstep. Helsinki closed its border with its neighbor in November, a move supported by all of the nine presidential candidates.

Polling stations opened at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) and closed at 20:00 (18:00 GMT).

Both candidates strongly support Ukraine

Both candidates are pro-European and staunch supporters of Ukraine and have taken a tough stance on Russia in their campaigns, Reuters reports.

In an interview last month, Stubb said that for now there will be no Russian element in Finland’s foreign policy:

“There will be no political relations with the Russian president or the Russian political leadership until they stop the war in Ukraine.”

Stubb advocates deeper cooperation with NATO, such as allowing the transportation of nuclear weapons to Finnish soil and the permanent stationing of NATO troops in Finland. However, he does not support the storage of nuclear weapons in Finland.