Sweden's election too close to call as opposition holds one-seat lead

Sweden’s centre-left opposition held a one-seat lead over Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing bloc after the general election, though the final outcome will remain uncertain until early ballots and votes from abroad have been counted.

With more than 90% of ballots counted on Sunday night, Sweden’s election authority projected that the left-leaning parties led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats would win 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament. Kristersson’s alliance was projected to take 173 seats.

The election, held on 13 September 2026, remained too close to call early on Monday. Four opposition parties led by Andersson had a single-seat parliamentary advantage over the incumbent prime minister’s bloc, and both leaders said they were ready to govern.

Andersson said the opposition coalition hoped to return to power after four years. Speaking early on Monday morning, she said: “it looks like it will be very close”.

She later told reporters: “We Social Democrats will always be ready to assume responsibility for the result. For now, we are in the lead. And if that is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government.”

The Social Democrats were on course to win 28% of the vote, a result that would be their worst in over a century. The preliminary seat projection nevertheless put the wider centre-left alliance ahead, pending the count of outstanding ballots.

Kristersson leads the right-wing alliance, which includes the Sweden Democrats. The far-right party lost support compared with the last election in 2020, despite having sought a historic breakthrough.

Kristersson said he would contact other party leaders to explore possible coalition talks. The eventual government will depend on whether the current one-seat margin survives the final count and on which coalition negotiations can secure support.

Election authorities will not confirm the result before Wednesday, when the early and foreign votes have been added. Until then, the projected 176-173 division offers neither bloc certainty that it will form Sweden’s next government.