Europe · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Sweden Votes Sunday as Ulf Kristersson Seeks Second Term With Sweden Democrats
Kristersson seeks second term leading a four-party bloc that includes Sweden Democrats. Center-left opposition led by Magdalena Andersson holds a slim lead in polls.
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Sweden election day
Sweden voted Sunday in a tightly contested general election that could either bring the far right into government for the first time or return the left-wing opposition to power, with conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson seeking a second four-year term.
“Sweden voted Sunday in a tightly contested general election”
Kristersson told AFP he was optimistic that his four-party right-wing alliance, which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, would emerge victorious, and he said, "I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work."
Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson told reporters after voting in her home municipality of Nacka, "Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before?"
ABBA composer Benny Andersson performed at the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Stockholm, changing the lyrics of their hit song "Mamma Mia" to "Mag-da-le-na!" as supporters gathered hours after polls opened at 8:00am (06:00 GMT).
Campaign voices and stakes
The election’s stakes were framed around whether the right-wing bloc could put together a majority, with ABC News saying the vote would determine whether a conservative leader remains in charge and a hard-right party wins ministerial jobs for the first time or whether the center-left returns to power.
Magdalena Andersson, who served as prime minister from 2021 until she lost power at the last election, told reporters after voting, "It is now up to the Swedish people to decide which direction our country should take."
ABC News reported that more than 8 million people in the nation of about 10.6 million people are eligible to vote for the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag, which will elect the next prime minister.
The far-right Sweden Democrats, which in 2022 took 20.5% of the vote to become the biggest party on the right, were described by ABC News as potentially able to expect Cabinet seats if power does not change hands, with Kristersson announcing in April that his conservative Moderates would allow them into government if the right has a majority.
After voting: counting and Europe
As vote counting continued, Al Jazeera said Sweden’s high-stakes general election results remained too close to call, with early trends showing the centre-left opposition in a narrow lead over the right-wing government.
“With 94.4 percent of votes counted, the centre-left opposition was expected to win 176 seats”
With 94.4 percent of votes counted, the centre-left opposition was expected to win 176 seats in the 349-member parliament against 173 for the right-wing governing bloc, according to the Swedish Election Authority’s latest update early on Monday.
Al Jazeera also reported that counting of late postal ballots and votes cast at Swedish embassies abroad begins on Wednesday, with the final result not expected until the end of the week.
In a wider European context, Al Jazeera said a victory for Andersson would provide some respite for left-leaning parties across Europe, pointing to Alternative for Germany (AfD) winning 44 percent of the vote in a key state election just last week.