Social Democrats demand Sweden Democrats apologise over parliamentary voting breach

Sweden’s Social Democrats have accused the Sweden Democrats (SD) of exploiting the parliamentary “pairing system” and are demanding an apology, while the Green Party wants SD excluded from any future agreement, SVT Nyheter reports.

The dispute follows Wednesday’s vote on tightened citizenship rules, where the government’s proposal passed only because SD broke the informal pairing arrangement used when MPs cannot attend votes due to illness or other reasons. Under the system, absent MPs are “paired” with opponents who also abstain, preserving the balance of power.

On Thursday, all parties except SD agreed in a meeting that the current pairing system no longer applies. Future votes will require all MPs to be present until—or unless—a new agreement is reached. Green Party group leader Annika Hirvonen (MP) stated she saw “no way to trust an agreement with SD” and announced plans to push for a revote on citizenship rules in the social insurance committee to “see where the majority truly stands.”

Social Democratic group leader Lena Hallengren (S) dismissed SD’s justification—that they were honouring the will of voters—as unacceptable. “They’ve shaken the entire government majority,” she said, adding that SD must “apologise and ensure the issue is put to a new vote” to prove “cheating doesn’t pay.”

The pairing system, a longstanding but non-legal tradition dating back over a century, was only extended to SD in 2021, a decade after the party entered parliament. The breach occurred when two SD “rebel” MPs voted with the opposition, contradicting the party’s prior commitment to the government’s position.