Sweden election: Preliminary results show one-seat advantage for left-wing bloc

Preliminary results in Sweden's national election are indicating a narrow one-seat advantage for the left-wing opposition over Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing coalition.

With 92% of the vote counted by early on Monday, Swedish election officials reported the four opposition parties, led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson in her bid to return to office, were heading for 175 seats in the 349-seat parliament, to 174 for the incumbent right-wing bloc.

Andersson told her supporters they were leading, but emphasised that they "must wait for the final election result".

Kristersson said he would weigh up "possibilities" given the close result, with the outcome potentially not being decided until Wednesday, when local election boards count early votes that didn't make it to polling stations by election day, including overseas votes.

His Moderate Party has led Sweden since 2022 with a three-party centre-right coalition, relying on outside support from the Sweden Democrats - an anti-immigration party - for a parliamentary majority.

The party had been promised cabinet posts if Mr Kristersson's coalition was returned to office.

"When we have the final result, it's a good idea to look at possible combinations," he said early on Monday, adding that "there is a very clear non-socialist majority, or non-left-leaning economic majority in the Swedish parliament. And I will actually take note of that and at least figure out whether there are any possibilities."

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party would "not know tonight" who would form the next government.

The party fell from second in 2022 to third place this year.

Exit polls from public broadcaster SVT had initially shown the left-wing parties ahead by several percentage points, setting off initial celebrations at the Social Democrats' election gathering, but the mood shifted as results indicated a closer race.

The centre-left party has led most Swedish governments since the Second World War, while Ms Andersson served as prime minister from 2021 until the 2022 election, which she lost to Mr Kristersson.

To return to office, she would need to secure a coalition agreement with other parties.

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Swedish politics consists of two major political blocs, with four parties on the right and four on the left, making elections more about which bloc can form a majority.

The major issues for this election included support for Ukraine, with the war leading to the country's subsequent decision to join NATO, but much discussion focused on the possibility of the far-right Sweden Democrats entering the government, which comes amid populist right-wing parties making gains across Europe, including AfD's win in the Saxony-Anhalt state election in Germany.

More than eight million people were eligible to vote in the election.

(c) Sky News 2026: Sweden election: Preliminary results show one-seat advantage for left-wing bloc