Back in January I noted that Pekka Haavisto (above, left), an out gay member of Finland's Green Party, was in a run-off election against Sauli Niinisto (above, right), a pro-European conservative who survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand by climbing a tree.
The election was held yesterday and Niinisto won:
"It looks like Niinistoe has won," Haavisto conceded on public television YLE, adding: "More than one million people have supported me and I'm quite satisfied with that."
Niinistoe was credited with 62.9 per cent of voter sympathies while Haavisto held just 37.1 per cent, with nearly 95 per cent of votes counted, Finland's justice ministry said.
The numbers were in line with what opinion polls had predicted.
AFP notes where Haavisto was weakest:
Haavisto's homosexuality lost him support among older and more traditional Finns, analysts have said. Haavisto, a 53-year-old liberal, is in a same-sex partnership with an Ecuadorean hairdresser.
