Finnish President Niinistö «shockingly» popular prior to elections

Current Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is so popular that he would win re-elections in the first round, making a second round unnecessary, if elections were held today.

The incumbent is the most popular candidate of all four months prior to elections in Finland, according to the daily Helsingin Sanomat.

Out of all supporters of the six largest political parties in Finland, 68 percent of the ballot would support Niinistö, thus making a second round of elections unnecessary. Post-Doctoral Researcher Johanna Vuorelma at the University of Helsinki refers to this as ‘shockingly’ high support.

Niinistö won the 2012 presidential elections as a candidate of the National Coalition. However, last May he announced that he will establish a constituency association in order to seek re-election as an independent candidate.

Also read: Finland's President: - The EU is needed more than in decades