This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6463465.stm

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Finland votes in tight election Finland PM has 'slim poll lead'
(about 3 hours later)
Polling stations have closed in Finland's general election which the centre-left governing coalition is expected to win. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's Centre Party has a slender lead in the country's general election, early poll results indicate.
However it is unclear whether Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen will remain in office for a second four-year term. Mr Vanhanen's party took 23% of votes but the conservatives made gains and remained a close second with 22.3%.
His Centre party has a narrow lead in opinion surveys over its main partner, the Social Democrats. The Social Democrats, who form part of Finland's centre-left coalition government, came third with 21.5%.
The centre-right National Coalition, the main opposition party, is expected to make gains but not to win power. Mr Vanhanen said the results, based on 80% of the votes counted, remained "too close to call."
The BBC's Julian Isherwood in the region says the main interest in the election will be whether Mr Vanhanen of Centre manages to meet off a challenge from his Social Democratic Finance Minister Eero Heinaluoma. "We're in the top three, but we don't know if we are first, second or third. Any one of these parties could turn out to be the largest," he said.
Coalition shift?
The gains of the Conservative National Coalition Party could lead to the creation of a new centre-right government, pushing the Social Democrats into opposition for the first time in over a decade.
The BBC's Julian Isherwood in the region says the main interest in the election will be whether Mr Vanhanen manages to meet off a challenge from his Social Democratic Finance Minister Eero Heinaluoma.
The largest party in the polls traditionally forms a parliamentary majority and names the prime minister.The largest party in the polls traditionally forms a parliamentary majority and names the prime minister.
The main issues in the election campaign have been welfare and the level of further tax cuts that the government wants to introduce.The main issues in the election campaign have been welfare and the level of further tax cuts that the government wants to introduce.
Care for the elderly has been a major issue since Finland has one of Europe's most rapidly ageing populations. Care for the elderly has been a major issue since Finland, with some 5.3 million citizens, has one of Europe's most rapidly ageing populations.