(STOCKHOLM) Sweden is headed for a victory for the far-right after a tense election on Sunday, but the final result is not expected to be confirmed for at least three days.
Updated yesterday at 7:37 am.
The coalition led by Ulf Kristerson, leader of the Conservative Party of Moderates, will win an absolute majority of 175 to 176 seats, according to partial results covering nearly 92% of polling stations. Outgoing Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersen.
The big winner of the evening was the nationalist anti-immigration Sweden Democratic Party (SD) led by Jimmy Akesson, which set a new record with 20.7% to become the leading right-wing party, but also Sweden’s second party. .
“It smells good,” he told his melted troops at his campaign headquarters.
Election night was marked by a rollercoaster ride: Although exit polls and early results suggested a narrow victory for the left, the right surged as the vote count progressed and is now on course for victory.
Based on votes counted at 1pm (11pm GMT), the right-wing bloc (SD, Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals) will have 49.7% of the vote. The Left Bloc (Social Democrats, Left Party, Greens and Center Party) would bring together 48.8%. That means only 60,000 votes out of 7.8 million voters.
The election commission warned that the final result would not be known until Wednesday, and that votes from Swedes abroad and some votes could not be counted in advance.
“We won’t get a final result tonight,” announced Prime Minister Magdalena Andersen, who won a good score for her party above 30%.
Count all the votes
“Swedish democracy must run its course, all votes must be counted and we will wait for the result,” said the 55-year-old current leader, who hoped to be sworn in for a third term on Sunday evening.
Until these legislative elections took hold of the traditional Swedish right, Ulf Kristerson, the conservative candidate for prime minister, never thought of governing with the direct or indirect support of the SD.
The nationalist and anti-immigrant party led by Jimmy Akesson has been struggling for a long time.
“Everyone laughed at how far we have come, how small the party is, and today we are Sweden’s second largest party,” the 43-year-old far-right leader told his ardent supporters.
“Our ambition is to be in government,” he reiterated, although the party is likely to be satisfied with supporting a new majority in parliament.
Significant immigration and the deadly settling of scores between criminal gangs in the Swedish suburbs have fueled the far-right in recent years. These themes, rising fuel and electricity prices, dominated the campaign.
The SD entered parliament for the first time with 5.7% of the vote in 2010 and has continued to advance since then, now exceeding 40% in some municipalities, particularly in the south of the country.
A victory for the far-right-backed far-right would mark a new political era for Sweden, which is set to take over the EU’s rotating presidency on January 1.R January and finalize its historic candidacy for NATO.
To be invested, a Swedish prime minister must have 175 or more votes against him, but not necessarily an absolute majority in his favor.
