Presidential elections are expected to be held in Finland on Sunday, 28 January 2024, with a possible second round on Sunday, 11 February 2024. Voters will elect the President of the Republic to a six-year term. Incumbent President Sauli Niinistö cannot run for re-election, having served the maximum two terms, ensuring the president elected will be the country's thirteenth.

If the new president is chosen on the first ballot on 28 January by winning more than half of valid votes cast, their term will begin on 1 February 2024. Should the election go to a second ballot on 11 February, the term will begin on 1 March 2024.

Requirements

According to the first paragraph of Section 54 of the Finnish Constitution, "The President shall be a native-born Finnish citizen."

Officially announced candidates

Mika Aaltola 

Mika Aaltola, the director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, announced his candidacy on 3 August 2023. 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. On 27 May 2022, similar results were obtained from a survey conducted by Ilta-Sanomat. Aaltola commented that he was humbled by the results and that "In a situation where the candidates would solely represent Finlandization and behind-the-scenes dealings, I would feel a calling to attempt the impossible for the benefit of my homeland. Therefore, my stance would entirely depend on the candidate lineup."

In a subsequent survey published by Ilta-Sanomat on 21 October 2022, Aaltola had unexpectedly risen to the top. After the results, Aaltola stated: "There is a one percent chance that I will become the President of Finland." He did not completely rule out his candidacy and stated that he would announce a possible candidacy at a later time. On 31 October 2022, Aaltola tweeted: "I am not currently running for any position. My focus is on the ongoing war and the geopolitical challenges of the winter."

On 4 November 2022, Helsingin Sanomat published a comprehensive personal profile and interview with Aaltola. Many of the sources interviewed in the article noted that Aaltola no longer behaves like an expert but rather speaks like a preacher or a politician. The same day Aaltola tweeted, that "I have no intention of running for the presidential elections."

On 11 April 2023, Aaltola tweeted "My support in presidential surveys remains persistently encouraging, even though I have stated a practical "no" on multiple occasions. This was based on the fact that it is practically impossible [to win] outside of political parties. Should I reconsider the matter in the autumn if the support persists?" In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Aaltola was the favorite as the next president of around 13% of the respondents.

Sari Essayah 

Sari Essayah, the leader of the Christian Democrats and incumbent Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, was chosen as the party's presidential candidate at a party meeting on 27 August 2023.

Pekka Haavisto 

Pekka Haavisto, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for the Green League, announced his candidacy on 8 June 2023. Haavisto has run for the office twice before, in 2012 and 2018, both times finishing second behind the incumbent President Sauli Niinistö. Haavisto is running as an independent candidate in the presidential elections. Independent candidates must assemble 20,000 signatures from qualified voters to establish a constituency association in order to run for president of Finland in January. The collection of signatures in support of Haavisto began immediately on the same day he announced his candidacy.

According to multiple polls, Haavisto is currently the leading candidate for the presidency. He is the most popular candidate among women and younger voters, as well as across party lines. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Haavisto was the favorite as the next president of around 28% percent of the respondents. In a presidential survey published by Ilta-Sanomat on 13 June 2023, which aimed to determine the potential result of a hypothetical second round in the presidential elections, Haavisto emerged as the winner when compared to all the other major potential candidates.

Jussi Halla-aho 

Jussi Halla-aho, the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland and a Member of Parliament for the Finns Party, announced his candidacy on 7 July 2023. His candidacy was confirmed by the party congress in August. In a survey conducted by Uutissuomalainen in January 2023 among party delegates, over 80 percent of the responding Finns Party delegates considered Halla-aho the most suitable presidential candidate for the party. In a similar survey conducted in summer 2021, Halla-aho ranked behind Laura Huhtasaari. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Halla-aho was the favorite as the next president of around 6% of the respondents.

Hjallis Harkimo 

Hjallis Harkimo, a businessman and the chairman of his own political party Movement Now, was elected as the party's presidential candidate on 18 June 2022. Harkimo became well-known in Finland as the owner of the ice hockey team Jokerit and as the face of the TV show "Diili", the Finnish version of The Apprentice. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Harkimo was the favorite as the next president of around 1% of the respondents.

Olli Rehn 

Olli Rehn, the Governor of the Bank of Finland and a member of the Centre Party, announced his bid for the presidency on 21 June 2023. Rehn is running as an independent candidate in the elections. Therefore he must assemble 20,000 signatures from qualified voters to establish a constituency association in order to run for the presidency. The collection of signatures takes place at events across various parts of Finland during the summer of 2023. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Rehn was the favorite as the next president of around 15% of the respondents.

Alexander Stubb 

Alexander Stubb, the former Prime Minister of Finland and a Member of Parliament for the National Coalition Party, announced his candidacy on 16 August 2023, after he had been formally asked to be the presidential candidate of the party.  In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Stubb was the favorite as the next president of around 5% of the respondents. When asked about the most preferred candidate of the National Coalition Party, Stubb was the favorite of 40% of the respondents, while Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen was preferred by 16%, former MP Risto E. J. Penttilä by 9% and Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen by 8%.

Paavo Väyrynen 

Paavo Väyrynen, former minister and member of the Parliament, announced that he would run as a candidate on 3 May 2019. Väyrynen participated in the previous presidential elections as the Centre Party candidate on three occasions, securing the second position in 1988, third in 1994, and third in 2012. In 2018, he participated as an independent candidate and finished fourth. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Väyrynen was the favorite as the next president of around 2% of the respondents.

Potential candidates

Jutta Urpilainen 

Jutta Urpilainen, the current Finnish European Commissioner, former minister and chair of the Social Democratic Party, has been frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for the SDP. On 16 August 2023, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party Sanna Marin asked Urpilainen to run in the 2024 presidential election as the party's candidate. Urpilainen has promised to announce her decision by November 2023. The leadership of the SDP had hoped Urpilainen to be a candidate already in the 2018 presidential elections, but she declined the candidacy citing family reasons. In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Urpilainen was the favorite as the next president of around 2% of the respondents.

Declined to be a candidate

Sanna Marin 

Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland and a Member of Parliament for the Social Democratic Party, had received significant support in opinion polls. During Yle's Prime Minister's interview program in the summer of 2022, Marin declined the candidacy by stating in quote:I can openly say that I am not available. On 3 June 2023, Marin confirmed her negative stance in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, stating, "In these upcoming elections, it is not the time when I feel that I should be a candidate. Now is not the right time, and I have no plans regarding it." In the presidential poll commissioned by Yle in May 2023, Marin was the favourite as the next president of around 5% of the respondents.

Opinion polls

Potential candidates

Pekka Haavisto vs. Olli Rehn

Pekka Haavisto vs. Mika Aaltola

Pekka Haavisto vs. Alexander Stubb

Pekka Haavisto vs. Sanna Marin

Pekka Haavisto vs. Jutta Urpilainen

Pekka Haavisto vs. Jussi Halla-aho

Alexander Stubb vs. Olli Rehn

Alexander Stubb vs. Mika Aaltola

Alexander Stubb vs. Jussi Halla-aho

References

External links

Presidential elections in Finland
Finland
President
January 2024 events in Europe