The General Election Race Is Head to Head in Sweden: The Opposition is Ahead

While the results of the general elections in Sweden are not finalized as of Monday morning, the race between the ruling and opposition blocs continues with a difference of three seats.

With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, it was seen that the four opposition parties led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson reached 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament.

The right-wing alliance led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson remained at 173 seats. Kristersson's alliance also includes the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, said in a statement on the election night that if the results are finalized in their current form, a new government will be formed in Sweden.

"We are ahead now. If this result is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government," Andersson said.

Andersson's party, who served as Sweden's first female prime minister in 2021-2022, received 28.1 percent of the votes.

Although the Social Democrats remain the country's largest party, this is considered one of the party's lowest election results in nearly a century.

The Moderate Party, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, received 19.9 percent of the votes.

Kristersson said that if the results are finalized in this way, he will respect Andersson's attempt to form a government with the other three opposition parties.

However, he pointed out that there are important differences of opinion among the parties that make up the opposition bloc.

It is stated that political differences especially between the Left Party, which received 8.2 percent of the votes, and the Center Party, which reached 7.1 percent, may make it difficult to create a common government program.

Kristersson also evaluated the possibility of creating a different parliamentary majority among right-wing parties and said, "It is still an open question which government will govern Sweden in the coming years."

One of the notable results of the election was the decline of the far-right Sweden Democrats.

The party, which is known for its anti-immigration policies and entered the parliament in 2010, received 17.6 percent of the votes. The party reached 20.6 percent of the votes in the 2022 elections.

Thus, the Sweden Democrats lost votes in a general election for the first time since they entered the parliament.

Party leader Jimmie Åkesson said that the final results are not yet clear, but it is clear that they lost a few points compared to the previous election.

On the other hand, Åkesson considered the fact that support for the Sweden Democrats became more visible in society as a political gain.

It is stated that it may take a few days for the final election results to be announced in Sweden.

Municipal election boards will start counting votes that did not reach the relevant centers until election night on Wednesday.

All votes cast in the country are then automatically recounted by regional governing boards. This process, during which the final results are confirmed, is expected to take approximately one week.

For the past four years, Kristersson has led a minority coalition government in parliament that relied on outside support from the Sweden Democrats.

This model gave the Sweden Democrats significant influence over government policies.

Before the elections, Kristersson also signaled that if the right-wing alliance came to power again, some important ministerial posts could be given to the Sweden Democrats.

For much of the election campaign, opinion polls showed the left-wing opposition significantly ahead. However, as the election approached, the gap between the two blocs rapidly closed.

The healthcare system, rising costs of living, organized crime and immigration policies came to the fore in the campaign.

Andersson promised to increase taxes on banks and high-income groups, reduce wait times in the healthcare system and raise declining educational attainment.

Kristersson, on the other hand, argued that the measures taken by his government in the fight against organized crime and irregular migration have begun to yield results.

In his statement to AFP before the elections, Kristersson stated that they would focus on improving the daily living conditions of Swedes in the new period.

Kristersson said they wanted to "make Sweden great again", referring to the slogan used by US President Donald Trump in his election campaigns.

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson also used similar rhetoric in his election campaign.

Åkesson, who has brought the Sweden Democrats to the center of politics in the last 20 years, said at one of his party's election rallies, "Sweden is becoming safer, better and more Swedish."