Sweden’s left bloc leads by three seats in preliminary results

With 176 seats against 173, the center-left bloc has a three-seat parliamentary majority in the preliminary allocation, according to the Swedish Election Authority.

Sweden’s opposition center-left bloc, which backs Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson for prime minister, led Sunday’s parliamentary elections, with the Social Democrats taking 28.1% of the vote in preliminary results from the Swedish Election Authority.

The Sweden Democrats were in third place in the preliminary count, behind Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s Moderates, with 17.6% of the vote compared to 19.9% for the Moderates.

Based on early results, the Swedish Election Authority’s preliminary seat distribution gave the center-left bloc 176 seats, three more than the right-wing bloc’s 173 seats in the 349-seat parliament.

The narrow margin leaves the race perfectly balanced and could make negotiations for the next government difficult.

Although the Social Democrats remained Sweden’s largest party and could lead the next government, their share of around 28% would mark one of their weakest results in more than a century, down from 30.3% in 2022.

Kristersson is seeking another mandate after leading a minority government composed of his center-right Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. The coalition relies on the support of the Sweden Democrats, who have become increasingly influential in Swedish politics.

A victory for the right-wing bloc would bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time if Kristersson follows through on his willingness to formally include them in a new coalition.

Such a result would mark a historic breakthrough for the party, giving it direct access to government after four years of outside support for Kristersson’s coalition.

However, the preliminary results suggest the right may struggle to hold on to power, while a center-left victory would leave Andersson facing potentially difficult coalition talks.

Around eight million people are eligible to vote in the Nordic country of approximately 10.6 million inhabitants. More than half have already cast their ballots early, reflecting the traditionally high voter turnout in Sweden.

Official results are expected within a week.