Voting under way in Sweden election that could see far right in government

Swedish voters began casting ballots on 13 September in a general election that opinion polls showed was unusually close at the finish. Polling stations opened at 08:00 local time, with official polling due to end at 20:00; exit polls were expected immediately afterwards and first reliable results several hours later. The contest pits the four‑party left‑wing bloc against a four‑party right‑wing alliance whose parliamentary majority has depended on support from the far‑right Sweden Democrats. Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson, who became Sweden’s first female prime minister in 2021, was among the first to vote, casting her ballot in Nacka with her husband Richard Friberg. Andersson has framed the election as a choice between a government shaped by the Sweden Democrats and a centre‑left administration she would lead, promising to bolster the welfare state and ease pressures on households facing rising living costs. Outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second term heading a three‑party centre‑right coalition that has governed since 2022 with outside parliamentary support from the Sweden Democrats. Kristersson has emphasised policies aimed at improving everyday life for Swedes and pointed to his government’s measures on organised crime and immigration; earlier this year his Moderates said they would allow the Sweden Democrats to hold cabinet posts if the right‑wing bloc secures a majority. The Sweden Democrats, led by Jimmie Åkesson, won 20.5% of the vote in 2022 and have shed some of their earlier political isolation despite the party’s origins in extremist movements. If the right‑wing alliance is returned to power, the Sweden Democrats are expected to move from external kingmakers into formal government roles. Turnout is expected to be high in a country where participation regularly exceeds 80 percent; roughly eight million people were eligible to vote in the contest and about half had already voted in advance.