Close election in Sweden / Center-left parties narrowly lead after counting the majority of votes

Sweden’s parliamentary election produced an extremely close race between the left-wing bloc, led by Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson, and the right-wing alliance, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. After approximately 80% of the votes had been counted, the left held 175 seats and the right 174, with the difference estimated at just 20,000 votes.

Exit polls had suggested that Sweden was heading toward an entirely new, left-leaning government. As the count continued, however, the result became impossible to predict, and the electoral authority warned that the preliminary results might not be finalized until Thursday.

The Social Democrats remained the country’s largest party, although their result appeared to be their weakest in decades. Magdalena Andersson told supporters that every vote must be counted and said that, if the lead held, Sweden would have a new government.

On the other side, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and his right-wing allies hope to remain in government. The Sweden Democrats, a far-right party seeking to enter government for the first time, dropped from second place to third. Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch warned of a period of uncertainty.