Voting is under way in Sweden in a closely fought general election that could either return centre-left opposition leader Magdalena Andersson to power or bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time. Polling stations opened at 8:00am local time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday.
A narrowing race between two blocs
Andersson, the Social Democratic opposition leader and Sweden’s first woman prime minister, voted with her husband at a school in Nacka, south of Stockholm. Her four-party left-wing bloc held a comfortable lead in earlier opinion polls, but that advantage narrowed significantly during the final days of campaigning.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second four-year term. His three-party centre-right coalition has governed since 2022 with parliamentary support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party that took 20.5 percent of the vote in the 2022 election and became the largest party on the right. Read the context: What Sweden’s knife-edge election could mean for its next government.
Key points
- About eight million people are eligible to vote in a country of 10.6 million.
- Voter turnout regularly exceeds 80 percent.
- About half of voters have already voted in advance.
What each side is promising
Andersson’s party has pledged to strengthen the welfare state and help households struggling with the rising cost of living. Kristersson has highlighted his government’s actions against organised crime and immigration while promising to improve everyday life for people in Sweden.
Kristersson said in April that his conservative Moderates would allow the Sweden Democrats into government if the right-wing bloc wins a majority. He would remain prime minister even if the Sweden Democrats became the bloc’s strongest party.
What happens next
Polling stations are due to close at 8:00pm local time (18:00 GMT). Exit polls are expected then, while the first reliable results are expected several hours later.
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