Sweden Votes: Centre-Left Bloc Holds Narrow Lead in Early Exit Poll
Sweden's centre-left parties led an early exit poll with 51.3% as the country voted in a parliamentary election on Sunday.
Sweden's centre-left parties, which support Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson for prime minister, took an early lead with 51.3% in Sunday's parliamentary election, according to an exit poll by broadcaster SVT. A separate election-day poll by broadcaster TV4 also put the centre-left ahead.
Official early results from the Swedish Election Authority were expected within hours. Exit polls in Sweden have often pointed to the eventual outcome, though they have not always been reliable. In 2022, an exit poll indicated Andersson's bloc would win, but the election was ultimately carried by a right-wing coalition led by Ulf Kristersson, the current prime minister.
A win for the right-wing bloc would bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time. The party registered 17.2% in the SVT reading.
The vote is widely seen as a referendum on the Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe. The outcome will determine whether the Nordic nation of 10.6 million people continues its rightward shift or returns towards the liberalism it has long been associated with.
Several opinion surveys during the week had shown the centre-left opposition holding a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc. But Kristersson, who trailed in the polls throughout his four years in office, has been closing the gap in the final weeks of campaigning, with Andersson and her Social Democrats losing ground.
Critics say Kristersson's government is eroding civil liberties while pushing immigrants to conform more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country, using both incentives and penalties.
A strong showing by the Sweden Democrats would be welcomed by Europe's rising far-right parties, which are riding high after the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany won a state election last week. The far right is hoping for gains in upcoming elections across Europe, with the National Rally's bid for the French presidency next year seen as the biggest potential prize yet.