Finland's National Coalition Party (NCP) has won a closely contested parliamentary election, with 20.8% of the votes, overtaking Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats, who secured 19.9%. Petteri Orpo's NCP is expected to lead efforts to form a coalition government. Marin has been in power for three and a half years, gaining an international reputation for her vocal support of Ukraine and her country's successful application to join NATO. However, her domestic opponents have criticised her government's increased public spending and costly pension plans. The NCP accused Marin of eroding the country's economic resilience. The Finns Party, a right-wing populist contender, secured 20.1% of the votes. The NCP's victory may end Marin's tenure as prime minister following her coalition's defeat. The poll was seen as a referendum on Finland's public debt as all the main parties supported NATO membership. Finland's proportional representation system requires parties to gather more than 100 seats in the 200-seat parliament to form a government, which is achieved by forming coalitions.