sweden parliamentary election – Artifex.News

Swedish election ends in near dead heat; preliminary results give opposition 1-seat majority

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 01:11:00 +0000

Leader of the far-right party the Sweden Democrats Jimmy Akesson delivers a speech after Sunday’s general election in Stockholm, Sweden on September 13, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sweden’s national election was too close to call early on Monday (September 14, 2026), with preliminary results giving the left-wing opposition a razor-thin one-seat advantage over Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right wing coalition and days of uncertainty until the final ballots are counted.

Preliminary results showed a very narrow lead for the opposition and former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s bid to return to office at the head of the left coalition. But Mr. Kristersson also said he would explore “possibilities” given the close result.

With 92% of the vote counted early on Monday (September 14), the Swedish Election Authority reported the four opposition parties were heading for 175 seats in the 349-seat parliament to 174 seats for the government alliance.

The outcome of the election may not be decided until Wednesday (September 16), when local election boards count early votes that did not make it to the polling stations by Election Day. This includes, among others things, overseas votes.

Ms. Andersson told supporters that “we must wait for the final election result” but added that “right now we are leading … But we have to wait for the final result.” Mr. Kristersson has led Sweden since 2022 with a three-party centre-right coalition. It relied on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party that has far-right roots but has moved toward the political mainstream, for a parliamentary majority. The Sweden Democrats had been promised Cabinet posts this time if the governing coalition were returned to office.

“When we have the final result it’s a good idea to look at possible combinations,” he said early on Monday (September 14), adding that “there is a very clear non-socialist majority, or non-left leaning economic majority in the Swedish parliament. And I will actually take note of that and at least figure out whether there are any possibilities.” Sweden Democrat’s leader Jimmie Åkesson said that “we will not know tonight” who will form the next government. The party’s support slipped almost 3% from its 2022 result of 20.5% and it fell from second to third place.

Exit polls from public broadcaster SVT had initially shown the left-wing parties ahead by several percentage points. The exit polls set off jubilation at the Social Democrats’ election gathering but the mood shifted to quiet waiting as the results indicated a closer race.

The centre left Social Democrats have led most Swedish governments since World War II. Ms. Andersson served as Prime Minister from 2021 until she lost power at the last election. To return to office she would have to seal a coalition agreement with other parties.

There are two major political blocs: one with four parties on the right and another with four parties on the left. So the big question is less about which party wins and more about which side can form a majority. Individual parties need a minimum of 4% of the vote to win parliamentary seats.

With broad political consensus in Sweden on several major issues such as support for Ukraine and the country’s decision to join NATO, much election discussion focused on the possibility of the anti-immigration hard right entering government. The Sweden Democrats’ role was in focus against a background of gains for the populist right in Europe, including the first-place finish by the far-right Alternative for Germany party in a regional election there on September 6.

The Sweden Democrats were founded in the 1980s by people who had been active in right-wing extremist groups, including neo-Nazis. They toned down their rhetoric and expelled openly racist members under Mr. Åkesson, who has led them since 2005 and overseen their growth from what was once a marginal party.

More than 8 million people in the nation of about 10.6 million were eligible to vote.

Published – September 14, 2026 06:41 am IST

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Swedes vote in election that could usher far right into government

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 10:53:00 +0000

Swedes were voting in a closely fought election on Sunday (September 13, 2026) that will either bring a far-right party into government for the first time or shift the country back towards the liberalism it has long been ⁠known for.

Sweden’s centre-left opposition holds a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc ahead of the September 13 election for parliament, several opinion polls have shown this week.

But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who has trailed in opinion polls throughout his four years in office, has been catching up in the ‌final weeks of campaigning, with rival Magdalena Andersson and her Social Democrats losing ground.

Mr. Kristersson has pledged to bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government if his bloc wins.

“We can unify parties, voters and issues into joint ‌action. That’s why we get things done,” he told reporters this week.

Critics say his government’s agenda is undermining civil liberties while ‌forcing ⁠immigrants to conform more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country, urged on by both inducements and ⁠penalties.

“We’ve become a harder society, a quieter society, but also a poorer society as we’ve had growth far below our potential and where households see their pay checks buy less and less,” Ms. Andersson told Reuters, adding that uniting people had made Sweden strong.

Supporters of the right-wing bloc say its policies have helped curb gang violence and cut immigration dramatically, and that a victory would ‌amount to a public endorsement of that approach and more in the same vein in the years ahead.

Electoral success for the Sweden Democrats is likely to be welcomed by Europe’s rising far-right parties, boosted by a significant win in a German state election this month by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany.

Another Country

Polling stations in the EU member state of 10 million people, which ‌joined NATO after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, opened at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) with exit polls due soon after they close at 1800 GMT and data giving an indication of the result at around 1900 GMT.

Voters in Rinkeby, an area designated by the police as extremely socially deprived, were worried things might get worse for ⁠them.

“They target Muslims; they single out Muslims and immigrants. But immigrants contribute to society,” Kahin Ahmed, 57, a sociologist who came to Sweden from Somalia as a refugee told Reuters.

“A quarter of those working in healthcare are immigrants. If immigrants stayed home for a single day, ‌Sweden wouldn’t function,” he said.

Over the last four years, the ruling minority coalition — backed by the Sweden Democrats — has abolished permanent residency for refugees, tightened welfare rules and boosted expulsions of those without a right to stay.

Voting on Saturday (September 12) in Rinkeby in northern Stockholm, Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson said the suburb, home to one of the country’s biggest Swedish-Somali populations, “doesn’t look like Sweden”.

The Sweden Democrats have pledged to ban both the niqab and the burqa if they get into government. Mr. Akesson told Reuters such dress “reflects values that I don’t think belong in Sweden”.

Building a government

The right has already agreed to form a four-party government led by Mr. Kristersson if they win, while Ms. Andersson’s ‌path to power is more uncertain.

The election could ultimately be decided by whether the Liberals surpass the 4% threshold to win seats in parliament, bolstering a right wing that includes Moderates, Christian Democrats and, since being invited by Mr. Kristersson earlier this year, Sweden Democrats.

The Sweden Democrats have already spent four years propping up Mr. Kristersson’s minority government in parliament, building credibility with the broader right-wing bloc.

Meanwhile, ⁠the rival blocs have converged on several voter priorities, including support for Ukraine, military rearmament and relief for households hit by the cost-of-living ⁠crisis.

While the opposition Social Democrats, Greens, Left Party and Centre Party broadly agree on the need for higher welfare and public spending, divisions persist on many issues, including immigration, where Ms. Andersson’s party wants a more restrictive line than some of ‌its would-be partners.

They are also at odds over issues including a tax on billionaires and building new nuclear reactors, while the Centre refuses to support a government that includes the Left Party, increasing the challenge Ms. Andersson would face to form a cabinet.

Published – September 13, 2026 04:23 pm IST

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