Sweden: Centre-left wins in a photo finish; Andersson leads by three seats, Kristersson resigns
The bloc comprising the Social Democrats, the Greens and the left-wing and centre-left parties won 176 of the 349 seats available in the Stockholm Parliament. The centre-right coalition backing the outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderates secured 173 seats
Four days after the polls closed in Sweden, the vote count produced a winner: the centre-left coalition led by Magdalena Andersson.
The bloc comprising the Social Democrats, the Greens and the left-wing and centrist parties won 176 of the 349 seats available in the Stockholm Parliament. The centre-right coalition backing the outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderates secured 173 seats.
This coalition comprises the Swedish Moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Sweden Democrats, a far-right party. The election result was notoriously too close to call and difficult to predict.
At the start of the count, the opposition’s narrow lead was uncertain, but it was confirmed following the counting of early votes that had not reached the polling stations by election day, including those cast abroad.
The Social Democrats have thus retained their position as the largest single party, despite losing some of their support. The election result bolsters former Prime Minister Andersson’s hopes of regaining the post he lost in 2022, although he will face the difficult task of forming a government due to tensions within the centre-left bloc.
