Finns voted on Sunday in a presidential election set to give left-leaning Tarja Halonen a second term, rewarding Finland's first woman president for her common touch and promises to preserve the welfare state, Reuters reported. Halonen has been way ahead throughout her campaign for a final six-year term, but the last opinion surveys before the vote showed she could face a run-off in two weeks. Halonen, 62, is backed by the Social Democrats as well as a leftist alliance and Finland's biggest union federation, but draws her popularity from across party lines in the country on Europe's northern fringes. She had 52 percent support among decided voters before the election, more than 30 points ahead of her rivals. But with surveys showing nearly a third of voters undecided, it could go to another round. Halonen would likely face conservative former finance minister Sauli Niinisto or Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose Centre Party leads the governing coalition. Niinisto had about 20 percent support in opinion surveys, with Vanhanen a couple of percentage points behind. Five other candidates trailed in low single figures. Nearly 4.3 million people are entitled to vote, with polling stations open until 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). There will be no exit polls, but results are expected later on Sunday night.
