The center-left opposition is narrowly ahead of the incumbent’s right-wing bloc and could be poised to return to government after four years. The far-right Sweden Democrats surprisingly lost ground.
The center-left alliance led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson was on course to narrowly win Sweden’s election.
With more than 90% of ballots counted on Sunday night, left-leaning parties led by Andersson’s Social Democrats were expected to win 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag, Sweden’s electoral authority said.
Her opposition coalition is hoping to return to power after four years.
Acknowledging the narrow lead, Andersson said early on Monday morning that “it looks like it will be very close.”
“We Social Democrats will always be ready to assume responsibility for the result,” she told reporters. “For now, we are in the lead. And if that is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government.”
What do we know about the election results?
The center-left party was on course to win 28% of the vote, which would be its worst result in over a century.
The right-wing alliance led by incumbent Ulf Kristersson was projected to win 173 seats.
The outcome of the election will not be confirmed before Wednesday, after early ballots and votes from abroad are counted.
“The voters have had their say, but we still don’t have a final result. Which government will lead Sweden in the coming years is still an open question, and we will do everything we can to ensure that this government will be the very best for our country,” Kristersson said.
Kristersson said he would reach out to other party leaders for potential coalition talks.
His alliance includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, which lost support compared to the last election in 2020.
Far right loses support for first time
The night’s biggest surprise was the underwhelming performance of the Sweden Democrats, which had gone into Sunday’s election hoping to get into government for the first time since its foundation in 2010.
Unlike in Germany, where most parties have ruled out working with the far-right Alternative for Germany as part of the political “firewall”, Kristersson had promised the Sweden Democrats key government posts if his alliance wins, with party leader Jimmie Akesson set to be given the role of migration minister.
But as the results came through early on Monday, the anti-immigrant party had lost support for the first time. It was winning 17.9% of the vote, a more than three-point drop from the 20.5% it won in 2022.
Akesson told supporters in Stockholm that while the results are not yet final, “it’s obvious that we’ve lost a few percentage points compared with our result four years ago.”
What do we know about the main parties in Sweden’s election?
The Social Democrats have governed in Sweden for most of the last century and remain the country’s largest party.
The left-wing bloc has promised to boost the welfare state and address rising costs.
Kristersson’s campaign, meanwhile, focused on his government’s record of reducing violent and organized crime and clamping down on immigration.
Eight million people were eligible to vote in a country of 10.6 million people. Turnout exceeded 80%.
Around half of the votes were cast in advance.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery and Kieran Burke
DW News
