Liberal Party misses deadline for parliamentary candidate lists in four northern counties

The Liberal Party (L) will not have local parliamentary candidate lists in four northern counties after missing the submission deadline, Swedish public broadcaster SVT Nyheter reports.

Counties in Norrbotten, Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Gävleborg will instead use the party’s national list for September’s general election. The oversight means voters in these regions will not be able to select from locally nominated candidates.

John Thornander, the party’s election coordinator for the affected counties, confirmed the error, calling it “a mistake.” He cited internal disarray following the Liberal Party’s recent cooperation agreement with the Sweden Democrats (SD) as a contributing factor.

“It’s been especially chaotic this spring,” Thornander told SVT. “We weren’t aware the deadline was so strict.”

The party discovered the missed submission on Friday and contacted the Electoral Authority, but officials confirmed no late entries would be accepted. “It’s disappointing after all the work we put into preparing the lists,” Thornander added.

The Liberal Party currently holds no parliamentary seats in the four counties affected.