Sweden to hold general election on Sunday with hard-right party eyeing cabinet roles

September 12, 2026 at 05:56 AM2 min

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Sweden will hold a general election on Sunday, with the left-wing bloc holding a narrow lead in final polls. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has promised cabinet posts to the hard-right Sweden Democrats if his right-wing bloc remains in power. More than eight million people are eligible to vote for the Riksdag.

Key Facts

A Friday poll by Swedish news service Ekot shows the left-wing bloc at 50.8% and the right-wing bloc at 47.6%, a lead of 3.2 percentage points.
The centre-left Social Democrats lead with 28.6%, while the Sweden Democrats are second on the right with 18.3%.
More than eight million people are eligible to vote in the election for Sweden's Riksdag.
Vote counting will start on Sunday evening and continue on Monday.

Electoral Landscape

Sweden's left- and right-wing political blocs are in a tight race ahead of Sunday's general election. The left-wing bloc, backing Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson for prime minister, holds a narrow lead in the latest polls. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has promised cabinet jobs for hard-right allies if he remains at the helm. The Sweden Democrats, who have neo-Nazi roots, have been supporting Kristersson's government.

Key Issues and Parties

National security, gang crime, and welfare spending are among the key issues in the election. The potential for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats to enter government could influence the outcome. The Social Democrats have pledged higher public spending and have regularly led Swedish governments since World War Two. The Sweden Democrats, founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s, became Sweden's second largest party in the 2022 election.

Campaign Controversies

The Sweden Democrats have faced allegations that a party official spread pro-Russian messages on social media. Kristersson said the official should be fired if the claims turn out to be true, while SD leader Jimmie Åkesson said the party was investigating. Nicholas Aylott of Södertörn University said the party entering government would be another step in its normalisation, but not the main issue for voters.