• Finland
• Republic of Finland
• Region: Europe     

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The first round of the presidential election was held in Finlandon 22 January 2012, with advance voting on 11–17 January. The elected candidate's term will last until 2018. The incumbentTarja Halonen was ineligible for re-election, having served the maximum two terms.^[1]

All the eight political parties represented in the Parliament of Finland nominated a candidate during the latter half of 2011. No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round – with 37.0 percent of the vote, Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party won the first round and will face off against Pekka Haavisto of the Green League (18.8 percent) in the decisivesecond round, which is to be held on 5 February 2012, with advance voting on 25–31 January.^[2][3] Niinistö led the polls prior to the election, while Haavisto was neck and neck withPaavo Väyrynen of the Centre Party competing for the second place, ultimately defeating Väyrynen by a margin of 1.3percentage points (about 37,000 votes).

The election marks an end to an era of Social Democraticpresidents. The Social Democrats have held the office for a continuous period of 30 years. It is also the first time that a Green League candidate is on the runoff ballot.^[4]

Power of the president

The President's powers were curtailed in the constitutional reform in 2000, and yet further in 2011.^[5] Currently the President leads the Finnish foreign policy together with the cabinet. EU affairs, however, fall to the Prime Minister's authority. The President has little domestic power. He or she can dissolve the parliament, but only at the Prime Minister's request. The President can choose not to ratify a bill, but this only returns it to parliament, which must then approve the bill again in order for it to become a law without the President's signature. The President's power to appoint officials has been reduced, but he or she still appoints all military officers as well as judges. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. The President also has the power to pardon anyone convicted of a crime.^[6][7][8][9]

With the curtailment of the President's formal powers, many analysts have emphasized the President's position as a leader of values.^[10]

Candidates

All eight parties represented in the Eduskunta nominated a candidate. The nomination was unanimous in seven parties, while the Social Democratic Party's candidate was decided in a primary, which was won by Paavo Lipponen with 67 percent of the votes defeating Tuula Haatainen, who got 22 percent of the votes, and Ilkka Kantola who received 11 percent of the votes.^[11] Each candidate has been given a number from 2 to 9 – voting happens by writing the candidate's number on the ballot paper.^[12]

Constituency association for independents or parties not represented in the Eduskunta must gather 20,000 signatures from eligible voters in order to participate in the election.^[13] In 2012, no such associations participated. Pekka Hallberg, President of the Supreme Administrative Court, considered running as a non-partisan candidate, but eventually withdrew.^[14]

Confirmed candidates

Candidates
Pekka Haavisto Green League Member of Parliament, former Minister of the Environment Electoral number: 2 Nominated 11 June[15]	Timo Soini True Finns Member of Parliament, party leader Electoral number: 3 Nominated 15 October[16]	Paavo Väyrynen Centre Party Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Former Minister for Foreign Trade Electoral number: 4 Nominated 29 October[17]	Paavo Lipponen Social Democratic Party Former Prime Minister, formerSpeaker of the Parliament Electoral number: 5 Nominated 8 October[18]
Sauli Niinistö National Coalition Party Former Minister of Finance, former Speaker of the Parliament Electoral number: 6 Nominated 22 October[19]	Sari Essayah Christian Democrats Member of the European Parliament Electoral number: 7 Nominated 26 November[20]	Eva Biaudet Swedish People's Party Ombudsman for Minorities, former Minister of Health and Social Services Electoral number: 8 Nominated 22 October[21]	Paavo Arhinmäki Left Alliance Incumbent Minister of Culture and Sport, party leader Electoral number: 9 Nominated 20 November[22]