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

The far-right Sweden Democrats party could enter government for the first time if right-wing bloc wins.

People cast their votes at a polling station in a school in Enkoping, Sweden [Fredrik Sandberg/EPA]

Voters in Sweden are heading to the polls in an extremely close general election that will see either the far right enter government for the first time or the centre-left opposition reclaim power.

Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats was among the first to cast her ballot after polling stations opened at 8:00am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday.

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The 59-year-old, who in 2021 became the first woman to serve as Sweden’s prime minister, voted with her husband at a school in her home municipality of Nacka, south of Stockholm.

Pre-election opinion polls have long credited the four parties in her left-wing bloc with a comfortable lead over conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s four-party alliance, which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats.

But the gap narrowed significantly in the final days of the campaign.

Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson (L) and her husband Richard Friberg (R) cast their votes at a polling station in a school during Sweden’s general election, in Nacka on September 13, 2026 [AFP]

“It is now up to the Swedish people to decide which direction our country should take. Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats? Something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of cooperation?” Andersson told reporters after voting.

Her party has pledged to boost the welfare state and help struggling households cope with the rising cost of living.

Kristersson aims for second term

Outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second four-year term at the helm of the European Union nation.

He has led Sweden since 2022 with a three-party centre-right coalition. It relies on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration, far-right party that has moved towards the political mainstream, for a parliamentary majority.

If the right-wing bloc is re-elected, the Sweden Democrats can expect Cabinet posts in the next government.

Kristersson has promised to focus on improving Swedes’ everyday lives, following his government’s clampdown on organised crime and immigration.

“We want to use our new and far better preconditions to improve the lives of ordinary people … to make Sweden great again,” Kristersson told news agency AFP before the vote.

Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Akesson (L) votes in Rinkeby, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, September 12, 2026, the day before the general election [Claudio Bresciani/EPA]

The Sweden Democrats , a party with neo-Nazi roots, took 20.5 percent of the vote in the 2022 election to become the biggest party on the right.

Kristersson announced in April that his conservative Moderates would allow the party into government if the right has a majority – though he would remain prime minister even if the Sweden Democrats are the stronger party.

Voting stations close at 8:00pm (18:00 GMT) when exit polls are expected to be published, with the first reliable results expected several hours later.

Some eight million people are eligible to vote in the election, in a country of 10.6 million where voter turnout regularly tops 80 percent.

About half of voters have cast their ballots in advance.

如果右翼联盟获胜，极右翼的瑞典民主党可能首次进入政府。

在瑞典恩雪平的一所学校的投票站，人们正在投票。[Fredrik Sandberg/EPA]

瑞典选民即将参加一场势均力敌的大选，此次大选要么极右翼首次进入政府，要么中左翼反对派重新夺回政权。

社会民主党反对派领袖玛格达莱娜·安德森是周日上午 8 点（格林尼治标准时间 6 点）投票站开放后最早投票的人之一。

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列表 3/3：瑞典即将举行大选，以色列和巴勒斯坦政策成为选票上的议题。

这位 59 岁的女性于 2021 年成为瑞典首位女首相，她和丈夫在位于斯德哥尔摩南部纳卡市的家乡的一所学校投票。

选举前的民意调查一直认为，她领导的左翼联盟中的四个政党对保守派首相乌尔夫·克里斯特松领导的四党联盟（其中包括极右翼的瑞典民主党）拥有明显的领先优势。

但在竞选的最后几天，差距显著缩小。

2026年9月13日，瑞典纳卡，社会民主党领袖玛格达莱娜·安德森（左）和她的丈夫理查德·弗里贝里（右）在瑞典大选期间，在学校的投票站投票。[法新社]

“现在，瑞典人民要决定我们国家应该走向何方。我们应该组建一个完全由瑞典民主党主导的政府吗？这在瑞典历史上从未发生过。还是应该组建一个由我领导的政府，引领瑞典走向新的合作精神？”安德森在投票后对记者说。

她的政党承诺加强福利制度，帮助困难家庭应对不断上涨的生活成本。

克里斯特森的目标是连任

即将卸任的总理乌尔夫·克里斯特松正在寻求连任，继续执掌这个欧盟国家的第二个四年任期。

自2022年以来，他一直领导着瑞典，领导着一个由三个中间偏右政党组成的联合政府。该联合政府依靠瑞典民主党的外部支持来获得议会多数席位。瑞典民主党是一个反移民的极右翼政党，但近年来已逐渐向政治主流靠拢。

如果右翼联盟再次当选，瑞典民主党有望在下一届政府中获得内阁职位。

克里斯特松承诺，在政府严厉打击有组织犯罪和移民之后，他将致力于改善瑞典人的日常生活。

“我们希望利用我们新的、更好的前提条件来改善普通民众的生活……让瑞典再次伟大，”克里斯特松在投票前告诉法新社。

2026年9月12日，瑞典民主党领袖吉米·阿克松（左）在瑞典斯德哥尔摩郊区林克比投票，这是大选的前一天。[克劳迪奥·布雷西亚尼/EPA]

瑞典民主党是一个具有新纳粹背景的政党，在 2022 年大选中获得了 20.5% 的选票，成为右翼最大的政党。

克里斯特松在四月份宣布，如果右翼获得多数席位，他领导的保守派温和党将允许该党进入政府——尽管即使瑞典民主党更强大，他仍将继续担任首相。

投票站将于晚上 8 点（格林尼治标准时间 18 点）关闭，预计届时将公布出口民调，首批可靠结果预计将在几个小时后公布。

在一个总人口为 1060 万的国家，约有 800 万人有资格参加选举，而该国的投票率通常超过 80%。

大约一半的选民已经提前投票。