Sweden's center-left opposition bloc is set to win the most votes in the country's parliamentary election, albeit by the slimmest of margins, public broadcaster SVT reported on Wednesday with 99% of the votes counted. If confirmed, the result would usher in a change in government from the right-wing bloc led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

As of 1647 GMT, with fewer than 1% of votes left to count, the center-left bloc was ahead by just 26,169 votes. The bloc is led by Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, the party that ruled Sweden for most of the 20th century. Data from Sweden's election authority shows Kristersson's bloc was on track to win 174 seats, against 175 seats for the center-left. Both Kristersson and Andersson have said they would be open to exploring coalition options.

"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. The election authority was counting late incoming ballots from home and overseas, a process expected to continue until Thursday.

Even with Andersson's slim lead, her bloc is bracing for tough negotiations before forming any government, especially amid deep divisions between the liberal Center Party and the socialist Left Party. After the 2022 elections, it took 37 days to form a government, which was considerably shorter than in 2018, when the process took 134 days. Parliament cannot vote in a new prime minister before September 29.

Source: www.dw.com