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M. Continuo

Finland's opposition Centre Party tops advanced voting ahead of election


    HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's Centre Party won the biggest support in advanced voting ahead of Sunday's general election, followed by the centre-right National Coalition and centre left Social Democrats, the justice ministry said.

    About 32 percent of Finns cast their votes in a seven-day voting period that ended on Tuesday. The results from these votes are often skewed due to differences in voter behaviour in different regions

    The opposition Centre Party, led by ex-businessman Juha Sipila, won 23.2 percent of the advance voting. The main parties in the outgoing government, centre-right National Coalition and Social Democrats, scored 17.9 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively.

    The eurosceptic Finns Party came fourth with 15.8 percent.

    The polls closed at 1700 GMT, and public broadcaster YLE said it will publish its first forecast for the final result around 1825 GMT.

    (Reporting By Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Alistair Scrutton)