With 40.1 percent of the vote counted, the opposition party leads the prime minister’s party by 0.1 percent, according to the Justice Ministry.
The Finnish opposition’s right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) has a narrow lead in the country’s parliamentary elections, with 20.8 percent support from the preliminary ballots, but the first count is often skewed and the outcome remains in doubt as the count progresses .
Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) is second with 20.7 percent support, followed by the nationalist Finnish Party with 18.6 percent, with 40.1 percent of the vote counted, it showed on Sunday data from the Ministry of Justice.
Marin, 37, is regarded by fans around the world as a millennial role model for progressive new leaders, but at home she was criticized for her government’s spending and for her partying.
If the NCP were to remain in charge, Chairman Petteri Orpo would have the first chance to form a coalition to secure a majority in parliament, and Marin’s era as prime minister would likely come to an end.
The NCP has led in polls for almost two years although its lead melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70 percent of GDP since Marin took office in 2019.
Orpo accused Marin of eroding Finland’s economic resilience at a time when Europe’s energy crisis, driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has hit the country hard and the cost of living has increased.