Public broadcaster SVT declares centre-left victory as vote count nears completion, with the far-right Sweden Democrats suffering their first-ever parliamentary decline.
Sweden's centre-left opposition has defeated the incumbent right-wing governing bloc, public broadcaster SVT said on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, after 99% of votes from Sunday's parliamentary election had been counted in Stockholm. Reuters reported that only 26,169 votes separated the two blocs, with the opposition on track for roughly 175 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag against 173 for the governing coalition.
A Razor-Thin Result Two Days in the Making
The centre-left bloc, led by Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson, had earlier been reported by Reuters on Sept. 14 to hold a narrower three-seat lead of 176 to 173 over the coalition headed by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, before later ballots tightened the margin further. Sweden's election authority had projected on Sept. 13 that the opposition was on course for a one-seat majority, underscoring how the count shifted repeatedly in the days after polls closed. Politico reported that Andersson's Social Democrats stood at 99 seats, with the Greens on 22 and the Left Party on 30 — a combination that still leaves her short of a working majority and facing a difficult task persuading her bloc's smaller parties to cooperate.
Far-Right Setback Reshapes the Political Landscape
Al Jazeera reported that the nationalist Sweden Democrats suffered their first-ever decline in a parliamentary election, falling three percentage points to 17.5% and slipping from second to third place behind the Moderate Party. Le Monde similarly noted the party lost ground, a shift Reuters said could reduce the far-right's influence in Swedish politics. However, Reuters cautioned that a change of government would not necessarily mean a return to open immigration policies, since Sweden's mainstream parties have shifted their positions over recent years.
Coalition Talks Remain Unresolved
Haaretz reported that the opposition parties — the Social Democrats, Left Party, Center Party and Greens — had won a combined 176 seats against 173 for the right-wing bloc in one preliminary count, while also noting the blocs remained split over Israel and antisemitism. With the overall bloc arithmetic tight and Andersson's coalition partners not guaranteed to align easily, government formation talks are expected to determine how quickly Sweden secures a new administration following the closely fought vote.
