Haavisto sees good even in defeat
Defeated Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto said Sunday evening that two new phenomena were seen during the presidential election. Social media played a major role and young people got involved.

Niinistö pledges to fight youth alienation
President-elect Sauli Niinistö Sunday pledged to establish a special task force aiming at preventing alienation among the young.

Road conditions turn bad
The Finnish Meteorological Institute and the Finnish Transport Agency have issued warnings to motorists in the capital region of very bad road conditions Sunday evening. During the night, conditions on the road are expected to turn very bad in the whole of the province of Uusimaa.

Election Victory: 62.6% for Niinistö
Finnish voters elected National Coalition Party candidate Sauli Niinistö as the nation's 12th president in a decisive second round on Sunday. Niinistö's victory came with 62.6% of the vote to 37.4% for his rival, Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto.

Election receptions kick off
The election receptions for presidential candidates Sauli Niinistö and Pekka Haavisto have kicked off in the Finlandia Hall and Tavastia music venue, respectively.

Halonen: poverty is a problem in Finland
President Tarja Halonen opened this year’s Common Responsibility Campaign. In her speech for the annual fundraising campaign, Halonen noted that despite today’s high living standards, poverty has again become a problem in the country.

Candidates cast their votes
Both candidates in the presidential election cast their own ballots on Sunday. Pekka Haavisto voted at Helsinki City Hall, while Sauli Niinistö voted at his local polling station in the Lähderanta area of Espoo.

Voters brave the elements, new cold record in Salla
Voters are braving extreme cold weather on Election Day. A new cold record of -40.7 degrees Celsius was recorded in the early hours of Sunday in Naruska, Salla.

Runeberg award goes to Katja Kettu
Katja Kettu’s Kätilö (Midwife) has won this year’s Runeberg literature award. The award was announced on February 5, Finland’s national day commemorating the 19th century writer J.L. Runeberg.

Election Day voting picks up
Voting in the second round of the presidential election got off to a slow start early Sunday. According to municipalities’ central election committees, few polling stations saw as much traffic as during the first round’s voting day. However, the pace of voting has picked up towards the evening. The polling stations remain open until 8 pm.