Halonen and Niinistö neck-and-neck heading into Sunday's run-off election in Finland
{{date|January 27, 2006}}

The latest poll from Finnish newspaper [[w:Helsingin Sanomat|Helsingin Sanomat]] in co-operation with Gallup puts the two remaining candidates - incumbent president [[w:Tarja Halonen|Tarja Halonen]] ([[w:Social Democratic Party|Social Democratic Party]]) and former minister of finance [[w:Sauli Niinistö|Sauli Niinistö]] ([[w:Coalition Party|Coalition Party]]) - in a dead heat, heading into the second and final round of the Finnish presidential election on Sunday. 51% of the respondents supported Halonen, while 49% supported Niinistö. The result is within the margin of error at 3%. Approximately 24% of those questioned refused to state who they will vote for. 

Previous polls had given Halonen - who received about 46% of the votes in the first election nearly two weeks ago against runner-up Niinistö's 24% - a larger lead, though the movement is within the margin of error. In a poll conducted by Finnish TV channel MTV3 on Tuesday Halonen and Niinistö were supported by 55% and 45% of the respondents, respectively.

The Finnish presidential elections are completed in at most two rounds. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the first round, the two top candidates compete in a run-off election two weeks later.

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.hs.fi/english/article/HS+poll+Halonen+leads+by+razor-thin+margin+-+Presidential+race+too+close+to+call/1135218524408|title=HS poll: Halonen leads by razor-thin margin - Presidential race too close to call|author=|pub=Helsingin Sanomat|date=January 27, 2006}}

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[[Category:Finland]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Tarja Halonen]]
[[sv:Halonen och Niinistö jämnstarka inför söndagens presidentval]]
The latest poll from Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat in co-operation with Gallup puts the two remaining candidates - incumbent president Tarja Halonen (Social Democratic Party) and former minister of finance Sauli Niinistö (Coalition Party) - in a dead heat, heading into the second and final round of the Finnish presidential election on Sunday. 51% of the respondents supported Halonen, while 49% supported Niinistö. The result is within the margin of error at 3%. Approximately 24% of those questioned refused to state who they will vote for. 

Previous polls had given Halonen - who received about 46% of the votes in the first election nearly two weeks ago against runner-up Niinistö's 24% - a larger lead, though the movement is within the margin of error. In a poll conducted by Finnish TV channel MTV3 on Tuesday Halonen and Niinistö were supported by 55% and 45% of the respondents, respectively.

The Finnish presidential elections are completed in at most two rounds. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the first round, the two top candidates compete in a run-off election two weeks later.
Finland Europe Elections Politics and conflicts Tarja Halonen