Voters in Finland are casting their ballots today, Sunday, in a closely contested and critical parliamentary election amid economic downturn and concerns about the future of public services. The next government will experience the early days of Finland's membership in NATO. Voting began at 9 AM local time (0600 GMT) and polling stations will close at 8 PM local time (1700 GMT), with partial results from early voting expected to be released shortly thereafter.
Polls indicate that the Social Democratic Party, led by leftist Prime Minister Sanna Marin, is in a tight race with the right-wing National Coalition Party and the Finns Party. Each party is expected to receive between 18.7% and 19.8% of the votes, meaning they will need to rely on smaller parties to form a government.
