Update: It appears Europe's dream lives another day. As we predicted, Pekka Haavisto has conceded defeat against the incumbent Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in the Finnish election vote, with "Trump-lite" Huhtasaari garnering 6% of the vote.

The incumbent was on 64.4 per cent of the vote, trailed by the Green Party's Pekka Haavisto, who came in at 11.2 per cent. Laura Huhtasaari of the populist-nationalist Finns Party and veteran Centre Party politician Paavo Vayrynen, who ran as an independent, garnered 6 per cent of the vote respectively. The results were based on a tally of ballots cast in advance voting. Election officials said 36 per cent of almost 4.5 million eligible voters had exercised that right.

"I thank you already, but let's not tear down the house yet," Niinisto said in an interview on YLE TV1 as the preliminary result was revealed. "We can't be sure yet, the election day can bring surprises."