2024 Finnish presidential election

At a glance

Dates: From 2024-01-28.

Place: Finland.

Type: presidential election in Finland.

What came before

Background The presidential election was the first in Finland since it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2023 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , ending decades of neutrality in foreign policy . The decision was supported by the outgoing president Sauli Niinistö , whose constitutional position also makes him the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces and gives him responsibility for defence and foreign policy affairs. Niinistö,

Timeline

Follows: 2018 Finnish presidential election. Followed by: 2030 Finnish presidential election.

Campaign Mika Aaltola Mika Aaltola , the director of Finnish Institute of International Affairs , announced his candidacy on 3 August 2023. [ 1 ] He is running as an independent candidate, and therefore must assemble 20,000 signatures from qualified voters to establish a constituency association in order to run for the presidency. Aaltola emerged as a surprise candidate in a presidential survey published by Yle on 28 March 2022. [ 2 ] On 27 May 2022,

What happened

Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2024, with a second round held on 11 February. Voters elected a president of the Republic for a six-year term. Incumbent president Sauli Niinistö was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring that the president elected would be the country's thirteenth.