Sunita Somvanshi
Sweden holds its general election today, September 13, with polls set to close at 7 p.m. local time. About 8 million of the country’s 10.6 million people are eligible to vote. Turnout traditionally exceeds 80 percent, and roughly half of voters cast ballots in advance.
The stakes for this election are unusually high for Sweden: the far-right Sweden Democrats are on the brink of securing cabinet posts in government for the first time. Party leader Jimmie Åkesson is widely expected to take control of the migration portfolio if the right-wing bloc wins, giving him authority over asylum, integration, deportations, and the Migration Agency.
The Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, has 349 seats; 175 are needed for a majority. Before today’s election, the Social Democrats held 106 seats, the Sweden Democrats 70, the Moderate Party 66, the Centre Party 24, and the Left Party 21. Party leaders include Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderates, Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson (the country’s first female PM, who served 2021–2022), and Sweden Democrat leader Åkesson, a Riksdag member since 2010 and party leader for over two decades.
Four years ago, the Moderates won a narrow coalition with parliamentary support from the Sweden Democrats under a deal known as the Tidö Agreement. That arrangement kept the Sweden Democrats out of cabinet in exchange for their influence over immigration and crime policy. This time, Kristersson has promised them actual government posts if the right wins again.
“We’ve already won,” Åkesson declared at a Stockholm rally, adding that “Sweden is becoming safer, better, and more Swedish.” Campaign posters echo the phrase “Make Sweden Sweden Again.” Kristersson has used similar language in recent interviews.
Andersson, the Social Democrat leader, framed the choice starkly. “Now it’s up to voters: do they want a government that will be totally dominated by the Sweden Democrats, or do they want a government led by me?”
The campaign unfolded against Sweden’s history of organized-crime violence and gang-related shootings, though crime has decreased significantly in recent years. Asylum applications have also reached record lows.
Polling showed the left bloc holding a comfortable lead for much of the campaign, but the margin has narrowed to a near-tie in the final days, making the outcome difficult to predict. Results will be released by Valmyndigheten, Sweden’s election authority, after polls close.
