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Polls open in Finland's presidential race

HELSINKI: Polling stations across Finland opened on Sunday for the first round of a tightly contested presidential election that has become a battle of the sexes rather than ideologies.

About 3,300 polling stations across the country will stay open until results from advance voting through post will be announced.

A third of 4.2 million eligible voters cast their votes in advance, but polls show up to 31 percent of the electorate still undecided.

Surveys showed Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, a Social Democrat vying to become Finland's first woman president, neck-and-neck with former centrist Prime Minister Esko Aho at around 37 percent support each. The five other candidates are far behind.

Neither Halonen nor Aho seem likely to win an outright majority on Sunday, meaning they will face each other again in a February 6 runoff.

Halonen, a Social Democrat like outgoing President Martti Ahtisaari, has in recent weeks soared past three other female candidates as Finnish women across the political spectrum rallied behind her.

Recent constitutional amendments have clipped presidential powers in domestic politics but left the president in charge of foreign policy.-Reuters