Swedish public broadcaster launches 2026 election compass for voters

Swedish public broadcaster SVT has released its election compass for the 2026 parliamentary vote, a digital tool designed to help voters compare their policy positions with those of political parties and candidates ahead of September’s general election.

The compass, launched today, allows users to answer a series of policy questions and receive a percentage match with parties and candidates based on their responses. A second version covering regional and municipal elections will follow on 23 June.

Questions were selected to highlight key policy divides, with input from SVT’s political analysts and research firm Indikator Opinion. An initial pool of potential questions was tested on a panel of over 2,000 people before being narrowed down to roughly 60 national issues and 30 local/regional ones. The final selection aimed for balance between positive and negative framing and included signature issues for major parties.

Users can mark certain questions as “extra important,” which increases their weight in the final match calculation. The tool also features direct statements from parties and candidates explaining their positions.

While the compass provides a snapshot of policy alignment, SVT emphasizes it is only one factor among many that influence voting decisions. The broadcaster does not store user responses, which are saved locally in the browser and can be deleted at any time.