Swedish opposition have slim lead in 'too close to call' election

Magdalena Andersson is seeking to return as prime minister - a job she held from 2021 to 2022

Sweden's general election remains too close to call with the left-wing bloc marginally ahead as the vote count continues.

Preliminary counts by Sweden's electoral authority projected the Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson would likely finish with a three-seat majority over the rival four-party coalition led by current conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Close race in Sweden as hard right eyes role in governmentPublished12 September

Early on Monday morning, Kristersson said it remained unclear who would form the next government.

With 95% of votes reported, the left-wing bloc led by the Social Democrats was ahead with 176 mandates compared to the right-wing bloc's 173.

The counting restarts then to include early votes that were submitted late, as well as votes from abroad that did not arrive before election day.

If the figures are similar this year, Wednesday's count could make the difference in the outcome, given that only about 28,000 votes currently separate the blocs.

On Sunday night, Andersson - the leader of the country's main opposition party - urged supporters to wait for the final result, but added that if the current results hold, "Sweden will have a new government."

But SD – who were founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s but moved to the mainstream in recent years - had been shunned until 2022 when it became the country's second largest party after campaigning on violent crime and immigration.

As of Monday morning, the Social Democrats were on track for their worst result in more than a century with 28 per cent, while the count showed the hard-right SD party was losing support for the first time since 2010 when it entered the Riksdag.

Turnout also dropped to approximately 80%, down four points compared to the 2022 poll.