At Stake in this Election:

• The Presidency of Finland

The first round was held on 28 January 2024.

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Sauli NIINISTÖ (since 1 March 2012)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Petteri ORPO (since 20 June 2023)
• Assembly: unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta) with 200 seats

Electoral System:

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The president may serve up to two 6-year terms.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by Parliament.
• 199 members of Parliament are directly elected in single and multi-seat constituencies via proportional representation vote. The remaining member, who represents the autonomous region of Åland, is directly elected by plurality vote. All members serve 4-year terms.

Last Election:

In the first round of the 2024 presidential election, Alexander STUBB (Kokoomus) led the field, winning 27.2% of the vote. Pekka HAAVISTO (Independent) finished in second place with 25.8% of the vote, advancing with STUBB to the second round. Voter turnout was 71.55%.

Information for Voters:

Tasavallan presidentin vaali 2024 (in Finnish)

Information about the Presidential Election (20 different languages)

Key Deadlines:

• Candidate filing deadline: 12 December 2023 at 16:00
• Voter registration deadline: N/A; Finland uses a passive, residence-based voter registration system. Voter residence data was collected on 8 December 2023.

Main Candidates in this Election:

• Alexander STUBB
  • National Coalition / Kansallinen Kokoomus
• Pekka HAAVISTO
  • Independent (supported by a voters’ association)

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 5,556,110 (2022 est.)
• Registered Voters: 4,553,030 (2024)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 2,810,710 (2022 est.)
• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 4 September 1986
• Gender Quota:  No
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 92 out of 200 (46%) in the Parliament
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.940, Very High, Rank 11 (2021)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 12.1 (2023)

Disability Data:

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 11 May 2016
• Projected population with a disability: 888,978 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources:

• Does IFES have a presence in Finland: No  
• Election Access: Yes
• Election Judgements: Yes, 1 judgement and 15 resources