Sweden appears headed for a change of government after a razor-thin election that has put the centre-left opposition on top by a single seat, according to public broadcaster SVT, with 99% of ballots from Sunday’s parliamentary vote counted.
With fewer than 1% of districts still outstanding, the parties led by opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats were projected to take 175 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag. The margin between the blocs was exceptionally narrow: less than 30,000 votes separated them.
“The likelihood of a turnaround at this stage is so low that we can confidently state that the opposition will secure the most seats in this election,” SVT said.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing governing bloc — which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats — was meanwhile on course for 174 seats, according to figures released by Sweden’s election authority.
Election officials are still processing late-arriving ballots from voters at home and abroad, a count the authority has said could continue until tomorrow before all votes are fully accounted for.
