Sweden's parliamentary election was too close to call after more than 86% of ballots had been counted on Sunday night. Former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, whose Social Democrats lead a left-wing opposition coalition and is hoping to return to power after four years, said early on Monday morning that "it looks like it will be very close."

"We Social Democrats will always be ready to assume responsibility for the result... For now, we are in the lead. And if that is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government," she told supporters. The center-left party was on course to win 28% of the vote, which would be its worst result in over a century.

Incumbent Ulf Kristersson, who leads a right-wing alliance that includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, said he would reach out to other party leaders for discussions, and that it was unclear who would be governing the country in the coming years. "The voters have had their say, but we still don't have a final result. Which government will lead Sweden in the coming years is still an open question, and we will do everything we can to ensure that this government will be the very best for our country," Kristersson said.

A victory by the right-wing bloc would bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time. The Social Democrats have governed in Sweden for most of the last century and remain the country's largest party. The left-wing bloc has promised to boost the welfare state and address rising costs. Kristersson's campaign, meanwhile, has focused on his government's record of reducing violent and organized crime and clamping down on immigration.

A victory at the ballot box on Sunday would suggest voters approve of that approach, supporters of the right-wing bloc say. Critics have denounced the agenda as undermining civil liberties and unfairly targeting immigrants. "We can unify parties, voters and issues into joint action. That's why we get things done," Kristersson said this week in parliament.

The night's biggest surprise was the underwhelming performance of the Sweden Democrats, which had gone into Sunday's election hoping to get into government for the first time since its foundation in 2010. Unlike in Germany, where most parties have ruled out working with the far-right Alternative for Germany as part of the political "firewall", Kristersson had promised the Sweden Democrats key government posts if his alliance wins, with Akesson set to be given the role of migration minister. But as the results came through early on Monday, the anti-immigrant party had lost support for the first time. It was winning 17.9% of the vote, a more than three-point drop from the 20.5% it won in 2022. Party leader Jimmie Akesson told supporters in Stockholm that while the results are not yet final, "it's obvious that we've lost a few percentage points compared with our result four years ago."

Eight million people were eligible to vote in a country of 10.6 million people. Turnout regularly exceeds 80% in Sweden. Around half of the votes were cast in advance. Edited by: Wesley Dockery and Kieran Burke.

Source: www.dw.com