Opposition holds narrow lead as Sweden’s election count continues

Sweden’s election ended in a knife-edge race, with the opposition holding a lead of one parliamentary seat while votes were still being counted, SVT reported. Political scientist Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson described the result as “thrillingly close” during Sunday evening.

SVT’s Fouad Youcefi identified five key developments from the election night:

Social Democrats face historic setback

The Social Democrats appear headed for a historically poor result. “It could be the party’s worst result since universal suffrage was introduced,” Youcefi said.

Liberals clear the threshold

One of the evening’s major surprises was that the Liberals passed the parliamentary threshold by a comfortable margin. The party had received just 1.8 per cent in an SVT/Verian opinion poll in February, one of its weakest results in such a poll. Eight months later, it had made a substantial recovery.

Sweden Democrats lose ground

The Sweden Democrats appear to be losing votes for the first time. The party is losing support in Skåne, which had previously been a stronghold, as well as in northern Sweden, Youcefi said.

Strong result for the Left Party

The Left Party made significant gains, taking many votes from the Social Democrats, particularly in major cities. Youcefi described it as a successful election for the party.

Small margin could decide the result

The two blocs remain extremely close, with the opposition ahead by one parliamentary seat. About 28,000 votes appear to separate the blocs, according to Youcefi.

The Election Authority said the preliminary result may not be complete until later in the week, as some electoral districts remain to be counted.