Soini opts for Niinistö
Finns party chair and unsuccessful presidential candidate Timo Soini says he has voted for Sauli Niinistö in the second round of the election.
Soini made the announcement in his blog on Friday. He said that the National Coalition Party's Niinistö was better suited to be commander of the Finnish Defence Forces and to handle trans-Atlantic relations, among other issues.
"I have nothing bad to say about Pekka Haavisto," he added.
Earlier Soini was quoted as saying he might for vote for Haavisto, the Green candidate. He said his comment had been misunderstood.
Soini urged his voters and party members to vote according to their own consciences.
2nd-round turnout up
As of Friday evening, 19.7 percent of eligible voters had cast a ballot in the second round run-off. That is considerably higher than at the same stage of the previous presidential vote, when Niinistö challenged incumbent Tarja Halonen. At this point in 2006, 16.8 percent had voted.
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