Electoral system for the president

Election Act (714/1998; amendments up to 218/2004 included)

Section 138 — Election of the President

After receiving the reports from all electoral district committees as referred to in section 137, Helsinki electoral district committee without delay confirms the final number of votes cast for each candidate nationally in the first round and the total number of votes and reports them to the Ministry of Justice in the manner stipulated by the Ministry.

If one of the candidates receives more than half of all votes cast nationally in the first round of the Presidential election, the Council of State declares the candidate elected President of the Republic under the Constitution, notifies the candidate of this in writing, and gives a public proclamation, which shall be published in the Statute Book of Finland. The proclamation must also include the number of votes cast for each presidential candidate nationally and the total number of votes cast.

Section 139 — Public proclamation on the second round of the election

If none of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast and thus no president has been elected after the first round of the Presidential election, the Ministry of Justice must without delay on the second day after the polling day give a public proclamation of the result of the vote, which shall be published in the Statute Book of Finland. The number of votes cast nationally for each presidential candidate must be mentioned in the public proclamation. The proclamation shall also include mention that according to the Constitution, a second round of the election must be held; the identities of the two candidates entering the second round and their numbers determined as provided in section 42 (2).