Just 131 Finns vote in Finnish president early election in St. Petersburg

Just 131 Finns have taken part in the early election of the Finnish President in St. Petersburg, according to the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg.

The early election took place in St. Petersburg on Jan 17-20.

“A total of 131 Finnish citizens took part in the voting: tourists, students, businessmen, consulate workers,” according to mass media and culture assistant of the Consulate General Kirsi Muurama.

Twice as many Finns – 300 - took part in the previous early election in 2012.

According to Muurama, the drop in the number of voters may be due to the growing mobility of Finns living in Russia.

The presidential election in Finland is scheduled for Jan 8. According to the Finnish Justice Ministry, as many as 24.2% of the Finns or 1,027,936 people have voted in advance.

Eight candidates are running for the post: acting president Sauli Niinistö, Pekka Haavisto from the Green League, Paavo Väyrynen (supporter of the idea of Finland leaving the euro zone), Nils Torvalds from the Swedish People's Party, Laura Huhtasaari from the Finns Party, Merja Kyllönen from the Left Alliance, Tuula Haatainen from the Social Democratic Party, Matti Vanhanen from the Centre Party.