Everything indicates that today's parliamentary election will be a battle on the knife between the country's three largest parties.

The liberal-conservative Coalition Party leads with 19.8 percent, closely followed by the nationalist Finns Party with 19.5 percent. And the Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, are in third place with 18.7 percent, according to public broadcaster Yle's latest opinion poll.

An increasingly burning question is what a future government formation might look like.

Above all, it is about which party or parties are willing to sit in a coalition government with the Finns Party – should the party become the largest.

4.5 million eligible voters

There are about 4.5 million persons entitled to vote in Finland, of whom around 40 per cent voted in advance, writes Svenska Yle.

Polling stations are open until 20 p.m. local time, 19 p.m. in Sweden. The first election forecasts are expected in the evening.

Tradition of majority governments

The leader of the party that gets the most votes also traditionally becomes prime minister. The country has a tradition of majority government.

The current government consists of the Social Democrats, the Centre Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party.

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"It's a theater before, and a theater after the election," says YLE's political reporter Magnus Swanljung about how the three largest parties relate to each other right now. Photo: SVT