MURMANSK (Sputnik) – President of Finland Sauli Niinisto announced on Monday his intention to participate in the upcoming presidential election, set to take place in early 2018, adding that he was considering running for a second term as an independent candidate.
"It was not easy. I love this country," Niinisto said at a press conference in Helsinki, explaining his reasons behind reelection aspirations, as quoted by Yle news portal.
The Finnish leader stressed he did not want to run for election as candidate of any party as he sought to see the real level of support for him among the country's population.
Niinisto needs to collect 20,000 signatures from supporters to become an official candidate.
The first round of presidential elections in Finland will take place in late January 2018, while the run-off is set for February.
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