The Opposition in Sweden Holds a Very Narrow Lead as Election Results Remain Uncertain

Sept 14 (Jowhar) - Sweden has woken up to an intriguing situation regarding the election, with preliminary results indicating that the center-left opposition coalition holds a very narrow lead.

Counting a portion of the votes released by the election authority shows that the left-leaning coalition, led by Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson, is on track to secure 176 seats out of 349 in the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag). This forecast is based on results from 6,195 out of 6,312 polling places in Sweden.

The ruling right-wing coalition, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, was projected to secure 173 seats as counting continues, and the final results are not expected to be released before Wednesday.

Although the results are not expected to change Sweden's overall direction regarding support for the West and Ukraine, they may determine whether Mr. Kristersson's efforts to adopt a hard-right approach on immigration issues will continue or not — or whether it will strengthen.

As the competition is very close, it may take days to know who has won until all votes cast from abroad are counted.

“It’s a very tough competition, it will be a long night, but I think the Social Democrats have made a very good election,” said Adonay Endrias Kidane, a doctor supporting the Social Democrats, while attending the party's post-election meeting in central Stockholm.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has recovered from low levels in public opinion polls.

The main issue of the campaign was Mr. Kristersson's promise before the election to cross a long-standing political red line, which is to include the Sweden Democrats in the government. This far-right party has ties to extremist neo-Nazi groups, and Mr. Kristersson has stated that this move is aimed at building a right-wing majority coalition.

On the right, many voters argue that success will ensure policies they claim have helped curb gang violence and significantly reduce immigration.

However, across the Nordic country of 10.6 million people, others have expressed concern, warning that opening the door to the far-right is an excessive step.

Critics of the Prime Minister also argue that his immigration plan — which combines incentives and penalties aimed at pressuring immigrants to adopt local customs — has been pursued throughout most of his four years in office following public opinion polls, but he has narrowed the gap in the final weeks of the campaign as Ms. Andersson and the Social Democrats have declined.

Hours after the polls closed, Mr. Kristersson stated that he still believes he can secure a workable majority among the eight political parties that won seats in Parliament, arguing that voters prefer his party's approach to the economy.