Sweden holds general elections with uncertain outcome

Author, News Department

Place of work, BBC Russian Service

Published 13 September 2026, 07:52 GMT

Updated 13 September 2026, 08:26 GMT

Reading time: 3 min

Sweden is holding general elections on Sunday, the outcome of which is difficult for analysts to predict. Options include the possibility of the far right entering government for the first time, but also the return of the left opposition to power.

These are the first parliamentary elections since Sweden abandoned its policy of military non-participation and joined NATO - which was a consequence of Russia's war in Ukraine.

According to opinion polls, the four parties of the left bloc have long held a significant lead over the four-party alliance led by conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Recent polls show a slight advantage for the left bloc. However, in the final days of the election campaign, the gap has narrowed to a point where the results could be tied.

Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democratic Party, which ruled Sweden for much of the 20th century, vowed to strengthen the welfare state and help struggling families cope with rising costs if four left-wing parties win a majority on Sunday.

Incumbent Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has vowed to focus on improving the daily lives of Swedes as his government's crackdown on organized crime and immigration achieves its intended results. Kristersson has promised cabinet positions to his far-right allies if he remains at the helm.

Kristersson has ruled for the past four years with the support of the far-right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party and has promised to include the party's representatives in the cabinet for the first time if the four right-wing parties win the election.

Until recently, the country's leading political parties chose not to have anything in common with the Sweden Democrats: the party's roots lie in the neo-Nazi movement of the late 1980s, and its rise in popularity coincided with a significant influx of immigrants.

The Sweden Democrats have gradually grown in popularity in recent years. If in 2010 they entered parliament for the first time with 5.7% of the vote, then in the last elections they came second, receiving 20.6% (while just over 19% of voters voted for the Moderate Coalition Party).

Since then, they have supported the current center-right coalition, which has led a sharp tightening of immigration policies, including the removal of permanent residence rights for refugees and an increase in deportations. However, deputies from this party have never held ministerial positions.

During this election campaign, the Sweden Democrats found themselves at the center of scandals, including allegations that one of the party functionaries disseminated pro-Russian messages on social networks.

Kristersson said the official should be fired if the allegations were true, and Sweden Democrats leader Jimmy Åkesson said the party was investigating the allegations.

Polling stations will close at 20:00 (18:00 GMT), after which exit polls will be published, with the first reliable results expected within a few hours.

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