Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's Centre Party took the lead in today's legislative elections with almost 40% of votes counted.
The Centre Party was credited with 24.8% of votes, while its junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, were credited with 22.9%.
The opposition Conservative National Coalition Party was meanwhile seen winning 21.8%.
Observers stressed that the partial result may not be representative of the overall election result, as it includes the votes of the 29.2% of the electorate who chose to vote in advance.
They included those in rural areas where support for the formerly agrarian Centre Party is strongest.
Observers said Matti Vanhanen's record on the economy and unemployment, which has fallen from 9% to 7.5% during his tenure, were his strongest asset in the election.
His party was leading in pre-election opinion polls with 23.3%-24.7% support after an election campaign that focused on health care, care for the elderly and job creation.
The Social Democrats (21.3%-22.6%) and the Conservatives (20.4%-22.1%) were neck-and-neck in the final polls, but the SDP appeared to be losing ground toward the end of the campaign and were struggling to retain their place in government.
If Mr Vanhanen, a former journalist, emerges victorious he could choose to continue his centre-left coalition with the SDP or shift to a centre-right alliance with the Conservatives.
His choice would depend on which party wins the most support.
Today's vote marked the 100th anniversary of Finland's first elections.
