Polls have PM Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats narrowly trailing both conservative NCP and far-right Finns party

Polling stations have opened in a knife-edge election in Finland, with polls suggesting the three leading parties are running neck-and-neck and prime minister Sanna Marin may face an uphill battle to stay in power.

A final poll for public broadcaster Yle – with a margin of error of two percentage points – put the conservative National Coalition party (NCP) on 19.8%, the far-right, nationalist Finns party on 19.5%, and Marin’s Social Democrats (SDP) on 18.7%.

Marin, 37, became the world’s youngest prime minister when she assumed the leadership of the SDP – and the Finnish premiership – in 2019 and has successfully led the country through the Covid pandemic and to the brink of Nato membership.

The country’s left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin is fighting for her political life.

Marin broke the mold to become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister in 2019 at the age of 34.

She leads the country’s Social Democrats party, heading Finland’s governing coalition of five parties.

Marin worked as a cashier after graduating from high school and was the first member of her family to attend university. She entered politics at 20 and quickly moved up the ranks of the center-left Social Democratic Party.

Since her rise to power, she has been viewed on the world stage as something of a trailblazer, setting an example for progressive leaders across the globe.

Her youth and gender have made her stand out from her predecessors, who for the most part have been middle-aged men.