Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Martin loses re-election with her Social Democrats party (SDP) to conservative rivals National Coalition party (NCP) and nation-first Finns party.
Martin's SDP came third with 19.9% of votes, closely beaten by populist rivals with 20.1% and the winner NCP with 20.8% of votes respectively.
“It’s a really good achievement, even though I didn’t finish first today,” Martin told supporters in Helsinki after congratulating winners of the election. “Democracy has spoken, the Finnish people have cast their vote, and the celebration of democracy is always a wonderful thing,” she added.
Martin became the youngest PM in Finland's history and the world when she was first elected at the age of 34. She led the country through the Covid pandemic and towards NATO membership.
