Sauli Niinistö National Coalition Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012.

[14] Constituency associations for independents or parties not represented in the Parliament must gather 20,000 signatures from eligible voters in order to participate in the election.

Pekka Hallberg, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, considered running as a non-partisan candidate, but eventually withdrew.

[29] Declined to run: The following persons were mentioned in speculation, but none of them signed up for the party's primary by the deadline 9 September.

[37] Declined to run: According to political analysts Salla Laaksonen and Kimmo Elo, the main dividing line between the presidential candidates in this election is not the traditional division over ideology, but instead voters are placing more stress on a candidate's views on the EU and social issues.

Some of Pekka Haavisto's supporters felt offended over a television advert by the Paavo Väyrynen campaign which says that "a house needs a master and a mistress."

Väyrynen responded by rejecting this interpretation and in turn accused Haavisto's supporters of deliberately twisting his words.

Niinistö's wife, Jenni Haukio, complained with a letter to YLE's A Studio saying that she was a private person.

[51] Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja accused editor A.-P. Pietilä of undervaluing Haavisto's abilities in foreign policy based on his companion; Pietilä wrote, citing an unnamed civil servant, that Haavisto's election as president might complicate Finland's bid for being elected as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council as several countries where homosexuality is outlawed might oppose the bid in this scenario.

[57] Soini was the only candidate to answer that as president he would address the issue of returning Finnish Karelia to Finland in discussions with the Russian government.

Niinistö said that increasing security cooperation within the EU might make joining the NATO unnecessary in the long run.

[61] In a debate organised by Helsingin Sanomat and Nelonen on 17 January, the last day of advance voting, all candidates expressed concerns regarding the social marginalisation of the youth.

While seven candidates thought that the president's role in EU affairs is primarily supporting the cabinet led by the prime minister, Soini wanted to pursue more independent policies if elected.

Niinistö defended himself against his critics, saying that everyone has to participate in common efforts to thwart the economic crisis and that labour disputes should be resolved within legal means.

Soini and Väyrynen shared Koivisto's concern and were willing to increase the president's powers, while the other six candidates were content with the current situation.

[67] Helsingin Sanomat wrote that during a YLE debate on 30 January "practically the only question" to bring out differences between Niinistö and Haavisto was their stance on Finland's possible future membership of the UN Security Council.

Niinistö said that, if a member, more active participation in peace keeping operations would be expected from Finland, while Haavisto emphasised civilian crisis management.