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Sweden’s centre-left opposition bloc has narrowly won the parliamentary election, securing a one-seat advantage over the governing right-wing bloc, according to projections based on more than 99% of the votes counted.
The opposition, led by Social Democratic leader and former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, is projected to win 175 of the Riksdag’s 349 seats, compared with 174 seats for the bloc supporting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The razor-thin margin has opened the way for a possible change of government.
The result remains subject to the completion of the final count, including some remaining districts as well as postal and overseas ballots.
However, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT said it was highly confident that the opposition would maintain its lead.
Andersson could now seek to return as prime minister, although forming a government may require negotiations among several parties within the opposition bloc.
Kristersson’s centre-right government has been in power since 2022 with parliamentary support from the Sweden Democrats.
The Sweden Democrats suffered a decline in support in the election and fell behind the Moderates to become the country’s third-largest party, according to preliminary results.
The extremely close result is expected to lead to negotiations over the formation of the next government, with the final outcome dependent on the remaining count and coalition talks.
