Sweden election is too close to call as far right loses ground

Opposition bloc leads in tight Swedish election with 95% counted.Sweden’s centre-left opposition bloc has held a narrow lead as the far-right party saw its support slip, with about 95 percent of the districts counted.The Swedish election Authority reported on Monday that the four opposition parties were projected to hold 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, called the Riksdag, while the remaining 173 would go to four parties that make up or support the current conservative-led government.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Photos: Large Oslo crowd bids farewell to Norway’s King Harald Vlist 2 of 3Multicultural Malmo: Swedish city loathed by far right braces for electionlist 3 of 3Sweden’s centre-left leads by three seats as vote counting continuesend of listResults may not be clear until early votes and overseas ballots are counted on Wednesday. If the left-leaning bloc emerges victorious, it could take even longer to form a government because of ideological tensions among its parties.Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second term and has been leading the country since 2022 with a centre-right coalition that relies on the Sweden-democrats" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="9626" data-entity-type="organization">Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots. He could remain in office if the left-wing bloc wins its thin majority but fails to form a government.The Sweden-democrats" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="9626" data-entity-type="organization">Sweden Democrats saw an unexpected drop in support, losing three percentage points compared with the 2022 general election, slipping from 20.5 percent to 17.5 percent. This marked the first time the far-right party suffered a loss in voter backing since it entered parliament in 2010.Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats held onto first place, but a 28.1 percent share registered as one of their worst performances in more than 100 years, complicating any bid to assemble a working majority.Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson (C) speaks during the Moderates’ election night watch party in Stockholm, Sweden, 13 September 2026 [Christine Olsson/Sweden Out/EPA]While the result appears somewhat out of step with recent far-right gains across parts of Europe, including Germany and Italy, the Sweden-democrats" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="9626" data-entity-type="organization">Sweden Democrats remain firmly entrenched as a dominant force in parliament.