"Sauli Niinisto gains 62.7 percent of votes, other candidates less than 15 percent," the statement said.

The official outcome of the presidential election will be announced by the Justice Ministry on Tuesday.

The first round of the Finnish presidential election kicked off on Sunday. Since the incumbent president got the majority of votes and won his second six-year term in the first round, there will be no runoff on February 11. </s> HELSINKI (AP) - The co-ruling conservative National Coalition Party has won Finland's municipal elections for the third straight time since 2008, while its coalition partner The Finns emerged as the biggest loser and the opposition The Greens made big gains nationwide.

Finland's Finance Minister Petteri Orpo declared victory late Sunday for his NCP party, which had received 20.6 percent of the votes with 98 percent counted early Monday, nearly on par with the previous elections.

The opposition Social Democrats took second place and Prime Minister Juha Sipila's ruling Center Party third place with 19.4 and 17.8 percent support respectively.

The eurosceptic The Finns led by Foreign Minister Timo Soini settled for 8.8 percent of the votes. The Greens received 12.4 percent compared to 8.5 percent previously. </s> “The party is rising to a new level,” Ville Niinistö, the chairperson of the Green League, analysed the implications of the election results in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat.

The Green League won 24.1 per cent of the ballot in Helsinki, falling 4.3 percentage points short of the vote share of the National Coalition Party. The National Coalition owed much of its success in the capital to the popularity of its mayoral candidate, Jan Vapaavuori, who won the most votes in the entire country – a total of 29,547.

“We have to give a big hand to [Vapaavuori]. Congratulations. Absolutely amazing,” Petteri Orpo, the chairperson of the National Coalition, said to YLE.

The National Coalition also held on to its status as the largest party in municipal politics in the entire country by receiving 20.7 per cent of the votes, a share that signals a drop of 1.2 percentage points from the previous municipal elections.

SDP loses ground in large cities

The Social Democratic Party, meanwhile, failed to live up to the pre-election hype generated by opinion polls and saw its national vote share diminish by 0.2 percentage points from the previous municipal elections to 19.4 per cent.

Antti Rinne, the chairperson of the Social Democrats, had stated before the elections that the opposition party should be satisfied only if it emerges as the largest party in the elections.

The Social Democratic Party lost ground especially in large cities, with its vote share dropping in each of the seven most populous cities in Finland.

The election results were a disappointment also for the Finns Party, which saw its national vote share plummet from 12.3 per cent in 2012 to 8.8 per cent in 2017.

There is no room for excuses, admitted Timo Soini, the chairperson of the Finns Party. “We got a beating. There’s no denying that we lost these elections,” he stated in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday.

Centre wins most seats

The Centre Party similarly fell short of its own expectations, with its national vote share dwindling from 18.7 to 17.5 per cent.

“I must admit that it’d be a slight disappointment if we fell short of the 18 per cent mark,” Juha Sipilä, the chairperson of the Centre Party, commented while the votes were still being counted on Sunday.

He later estimated that the disappointing results are attributable to the difficult decisions and reforms that have fallen on the shoulders of his Government. “It’s obvious that once you once you start taking action, it’s easy to criticise,” he explained to YLE.

The Centre Party remained the most popular party in numerous small municipalities and, as a result, secured by far the highest number of council seats in the country, a total of 2,823 – roughly 1,100 more than the Social Democrats.

The Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party were both able to bump up their national vote share from the previous municipal elections, the former by 0.8 percentage points to 8.8 per cent and the latter by 0.2 percentage points to 4.9 per cent.The Christian Democrats also saw its vote share increase, by 0.4 percentage points to 4.1 per cent.

Voter turnout improved by 0.5 percentage points from the previous municipal elections to 58.8 per cent, according to Helsingin Sanomat. </s> HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's president crushes competition in landslide re-election victory after receiving 62.7 percent of vote.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s president crushes competition in landslide re-election victory after receiving 62.7 percent of vote. </s> The Latest on Finland's parliamentary election (all times local):

The chairman of the populist Finns Party says he was truly surprised at how his party performed in Finland's parliamentary election.

A complete count of votes from Sunday's election had the euroskeptic party winning 39 seats in the 200-seat Finnish legislature, one fewer than the center-left Social Democratic Party that received the most votes.

Finns Party chairman Jussi Halla-aho also received the most votes by far of any candidate who ran for the Eduskunta legislature. Finnish media are suggesting that could put him in the role of kingmaker in the next government.

An elated Halla-aho called it a "day of joy" and said: "I certainly could never have expected a result like this. Honestly speaking, none of us expected this kind of result."

The leader of Finland's center-left Social Democratic Party vowed to focus on climate and social policies after election results indicated his party won the most seats in parliament.

Antti Rinne, a former union leader and former finance minister, celebrated with supporters at an election party in central Helsinki.

He called on them to "take the Finnish society toward a sustainable climate, social and economic policies."

With 99 percent of the votes counted, the Social Democrats appeared to have won 40 seats, just edging out the populist euroskeptic Finns party, which got 39.

Rinne also told them: "I have to make a honest confession: I hoped still for a better result."

Election returns in Finland indicate the Social Democratic Party was the top vote-getter in the country's parliamentary election, trailed closely by the populist euroskeptic Finns Party.

With 90% of ballots counted on Sunday night, the Social Democrats had won 40 seats in the 200-member parliament and the Finns Party 39.

The preliminary returns gave the conservative National Coalition Party 37 seats and the Center Party that was senior partner in the outgoing government 32.

The Finns Party has gained momentum among rural voters and others who find the climate change proposals of other political parties too daunting.

The leader of Finland's center-left Social Democratic Party says he expects the rest of election night in a two-way contest with the conservative National Coalition Party.

Antti Rinne, said Sunday night the Social Democrats held a small lead after most ballots cast in advance were counted: "It's a thrilling situation. It seems to me this will be a race between us and the NCP."

National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo predicted that postelection talks on forming the next Finnish government will be difficult because "whoever comes out first will face hard time in working out a government program."

The Social Democratic Party had 18.9% of the uncompleted tally of advance votes and the National Coalition Party wasn't far behind with 17.2%

Early returns from Finland's parliamentary election have the center-left Social Democratic Party in first place and the conservative National Coalition Party not far behind with most of the ballots that were cast in advance already counted.

Initial results from the pool of 1.5 million advance votes, representing 36% of eligible voters, were published minutes after he polls from Sunday's election closed.

The Social Democratic Party had 18.9% percent of advance votes from the uncompleted tally and the National Coalition Party 17.2%.

Outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipila's Center Party and the populist Finns Party were close with 15.4% and 15.1% respectively.

Officials said some 300,000 advance votes remained uncounted when polls closed at 1700GMT.

The leader of Finland's center-left Social Democratic Party says he hasn't ruled out having the populist Finns Party as a governing coalition partner, but its differing "value base" is an obstacle.

Social Democratic leader Antti Rinne told reporters after voting Sunday in a municipality north of Finland's capital of Helsinki: "I have not closed out the Finns Party. I have said that if we're the first party, we are going to ask all parties the same questions."

Rinne said his values "differ very much" from those of the chairman of the euroskeptic, anti-immigrant Finns, Jussi Halla-aho.

He said" 'That's a big question for me. We need to have a government where there is the same value base."

Polls before the parliamentary election predicted the Social Democrats would place first with voter support of 19%-21%. The polls had the Finns Party coming in second or third with 15%-16% of the vote.

While the debate over climate change has dominated the campaign for Finland's parliamentary election, the populist Finns Party disagrees with other main parties on what measures to take.

Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho told reporters at a Helsinki polling station Sunday that "we want a more moderate and sensible climate policy that does not chase industries away from Finland to countries like China."

The Finns Party, which ahead of Sunday's vote has been polling in second place behind the opposition Social Democrats, has been gaining momentum among rural voters and others who find the climate change proposals of other political parties too daunting.

Some of those proposals include boosting the number of electric vehicles, cutting meat consumption through taxes and switching to more vegetarian food in public places like schools.

Greenpeace is calling the parliamentary vote in Finland the "climate election," saying that "never before has climate and the limits of planet Earth been discussed with such seriousness in Finland."

Sunday's vote in the European Union member of 5.5 million people is taking place in a Nordic country that has one-third of its land above the Arctic Circle and where climate policy has emerged as a key election topic.

Voter Sofia Frantsi, 27, an architect from Helsinki, told The Associated Press "for everybody, it's about the climate. It's kind of a climate election."

Greens lawmaker Emma Kari told the AP that "it's clear a vast majority of Finns is hoping the new parliament takes climate action."

Voters were choosing between 2,500 candidates from 19 political parties and movements for the Eduskunta legislature's 200 seats.

Voters in Finland are casting ballots in a parliamentary election after fierce debates over how best to tackle climate change dominated the campaign, even overshadowing topics like reforming the nation's generous welfare model.

Sunday's vote in the European Union member of 5.5 million people is taking place in a Nordic country that has one-third of its territory above the Arctic Circle.

The center-left Social Democratic Party tops a recent poll with 19% support. The populist Finns Party, however, is polling in second place with 16% support and has been gathering momentum among voters who find the climate change sacrifices proposed by other political parties too daunting.

Some 36% of eligible voters have already cast their ballot in advance, choosing between 2,500 candidates from 19 political parties and movements for the Eduskunta legislature's 200 seats. </s> Image: Tom Bateman/ Yle News

Government parties took a drubbing in Finland’s parliamentary election on Sunday as Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s Centre Party polled its lowest general election result ever with just 13.8 percent of the vote to lose 13 seats with all votes counted, while hard-right populist Finns Party came second with 39 seats, just one behind the Social Democrats' 40.

Election result 2019 With 100% of vote counted: SDP 40 seats FP 39 NCP 38 CEN 31 GREENS 20 LEFT 16 SPP 9 CD 5 BLUE 0 OTHERS 2

Coalition partner Blue Reform was obliterated, getting just one percent of the vote and no MPs, while the third government partner the National Coalition Party emerged from four years in power relatively unscathed to gain one seat and finish on 38 seats.

Sipilä, a former businessman, had promised to bring the efficiency of the private sector to government as prime minister. However his administration’s austerity policies and labour market experiments such as a contentious so-called activation model ruffled many feathers. Reacting to the results on Sunday, Sipilä said that the party was the evening’s biggest loser. "We are the biggest loser and that must be acknowledged. The people have spoken," he added.

A n upstart in the race according to media polls , the Finns Party made good on pre-election polling and staged a strong finish with 17.5 percent of the vote. Immigration hardliner and party chair Jussi Halla-aho had previously had said he wanted to take the party into the next government.

"We have made it very clear to everybody that we are open to cooperation with everyone but not at any cost," Halla-aho said. "We could not join a government which is not committed to reducing harmful immigration to Finland," he added.

Halla-aho a big vote puller

Halla-aho scored a double win for the Finns Party, as he emerged as the evening’s biggest vote magnet, attracting support from more than 30,000 voters.

The centre-left Social Democratic Party managed a razor thin lead over its rivals, snapping up 17.7 percent of ballots cast, one of its poorest election outcomes ever. But that was enough for the Social Democrats to increase their parliamentary presence by six seats to 40, likely giving the party the mandate to initiate government formation talks.

Party leader and former union boss Antti Rinne told Yle News that he is likely to focus on a few key issues in government. "I hope we can solve this unemployment situation we have in Finland nowadays. It’s pensions, students, and child families are not doing so well in Finland now," he noted.

The NCP ended the evening with 17 percent voter support, just trailing the populist Finns Party. The SDP and the NCP have not always seen eye-to-eye, but party chair Petteri Orpo did not rule out both parties cooperating in government.

"Of course it is possible if we find a common programme for the government. Our red lines are the economy. We want to keep public finances in balance and we want Finland to be an active member of the EU. And our main target is to get the unemployment rate to a Nordic level," Orpo told Yle News.

The election was a hotly-contested race in which no single party was able to harvest 20 percent or more votes -- a situation that analysts described as unusual. The outcome reflects what pundits are calling an increasingly fragmented political landscape in Finland.

"People are looking for options. They have not been satisfied and that’s why we have seen the growth of support for the Finns Party and the Greens," said political commentator Sini Korpinen, a frequent contributor to Yle News’ All Points North podcast.

"The age when three big parties take turns in government or in opposition are over. It’s time for politicians to figure out how to make things work," she added.

2019 records: Early voting, women make gains

This year a record number of people -- more than 1.5 million or 36.1 percent of the electorate -- opted to cast their ballots early during advance voting. Early voting activity increased by about four percent compared to the previous general election.

The overall voter turnout was 72 percent, up from 70 percent in the last general election in 2015. Korpinen told Yle that the outcome reflects the highly polarised nature of the election. "It’s going to be very hard to negotiate a government, maybe the hardest ever. Anything can happen."

The election has seated a record number of female MPs in the Finnish parliament. This year women will take up 92 positions as lawmakers, up from the previous record of 85 in 2011. In addition, this year saw more women than ever among the top vote-getters.

One of Finland’s new vote magnets was NCP MP Elina Lepomäki, whom punters see as a contender for party chair when party delegates meet to elect a new party leader in 2020.

Overall, around 60 foreign-background candidates vied for seats in the election, according to Statistics Finland.

Edit: Updated at 1.02am to reflect final result with all votes counted. </s> The populist Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) won nearly 18 per cent in Sunday’s ballot, securing 20 seats. The radical right party saw a surge in support with its fiercely anti-immigrant message. Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas is set to become Estonia’s first female prime minister after her party won 29.3 per cent of the vote, increasing their seats by four to 34, but she must now form a fresh coalition government.

Estonia elections cause crisis for EU as populists to soar

Centre-left curent Prime Minister Juri Ratas saw his hopes of forming a majority government dashed by the rise in support for EKRE, with his Centre Party securing only 26 seats

The Center Party had been in coalition with the Social Democrats and the center-right Pro Patria party since the last government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in November 2016.

His party won 22.3 per cent of the vote, with the current coalition unlikely to continue as it will not have enough seats, winning only around 47 of 101 seats in the new Riigikogu parliament.

More than 63 per cent of voters cast their ballot in Sunday's election. </s> TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Latest on Estonia's general election (all times local):

A center-right party that held the prime minister's office in Estonia for over a decade has a good-sized lead with ballots from more than half of polling stations counted.

Results from 280 of the small Baltic country's 451 polling places gave the Reform Party 32.3 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election held Sunday.

The party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016

The senior partner in the current coalition government, Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party, had overcome a far-right nationalist party to reach second place with 18 percent.

Reform and Center both hope to keep the nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party from increasing its presence in parliament. EKRE was running third with 17.3 percent.

Many of the returns so far are from smaller districts. The percentages could change greatly once counts come in from large districts in Estonia's capital, Tallinn.

The first results from a parliamentary election in Estonia put the main opposition party ahead and a far-right populist party placing ahead of the main party in the coalition now governing the small Baltic country.

With ballots from 122 of 451 polling stations counted, the center-right Reform Party had 37 percent of the vote from Sunday's election. The party held the prime minister's post continuously from 2005-2016

The nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party had 15 percent and Prime Minister Juri Ratas' left-leaning Center Party had 13.4 percent of votes.

Some 26 percent of Estonia's nearly 1 million eligible voters made their choices online by a Feb. 27 electronic voting deadline. Those votes were tallied first and included in the polling station results.

Polls have closed in Estonia, where voters cast ballots in a parliamentary election that was expected to be a close race between the left-leaning party of the current prime minister and the main center-right opposition party.

Both Prime Minister Juri Ratas' Center Party and the center-right Reform Party shared the goal of keeping the nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party at bay.

Sunday's election in the small Baltic country, a member of both NATO and the European Union, took place as the far-right Estonian Conservative People's Party, appears to be gaining popularity.

Nearly 1 million voters were eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

Officials said voter turnout was 57 percent four hours before polls closed.

The leader of Estonia's main opposition party has voted in the general election and accused Prime Minister Juri Ratas' government of "messing up" the small Baltic nation's taxation system.

Estonians are voting Sunday in a general election where the opposition center-right Reform Party is challenging Ratas' left-leaning Center Party with a focus on socio-economic issues, such as taxation.

Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas told The Associated Press while voting in central Tallinn that "the topic that most people talk about are the taxes" and that Ratas' Cabinet "has totally messed (up) the tax system, excise duties, income tax system and people are really annoyed by this."

Among other things, Ratas' government has substantially increased excise duties on alcohol, partly on health grounds, and reformed Estonia's flat income tax, a cornerstone of the economy. Estonia has one of the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in Europe.

Estonians have started voting in a parliamentary election in the small Baltic nation in a ballot where Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Center Party are pitted against the center-right opposition Reform Party and where populists are seen making inroads.

Sunday's vote in the NATO and the European Union member of 1.3 million comes as the far-right, nationalist Estonian Conservative People's Party, EKRE, has substantially increased its popularity since the 2015 election.

Both main contenders wish to keep it at bay.

Nearly a million voters are eligible to elect representatives for the next four years to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.

About 26 percent have previously cast their votes online. Electronic voting pioneer Estonia was the first country in the world to use online balloting for a national election in 2005.
Incumbent Sauli Niinistö takes an unprecedented first round victory after receiving 62.7 percent of the votes.