Sweden's center-left opposition wins election, Ulf Kristersson resigns as prime minister

Sweden's center-left opposition bloc won a narrow majority in the September 13, 2026 election, securing 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag against the right-wing bloc's 173 seats. Following the final vote count on September 17, 2026, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resigned. The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats suffered their first-ever decline, dropping to 17.5% of the vote. Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson faces complex negotiations to unite a deeply splintered bloc and form a stable government.

Swedish election results

• ▪The outgoing conservative-led governing bloc and its supporters secured 173 seats in the September 13, 2026 Swedish parliamentary election
• ▪The margin of victory between the left-leaning opposition and the right-wing bloc in Sweden's September 13, 2026 parliamentary election was approximately 50,000 votes out of Sweden's population of over 10 million
• ▪The Swedish Election Authority confirmed the final results of Sweden's September 13, 2026 parliamentary election on September 17, 2026, after counting late-arriving ballots and overseas votes
• ▪Sweden's left-leaning opposition bloc won a narrow majority of 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag in the September 13, 2026 national election

Sweden Democrats decline

• ▪Sweden Democrats leaders acknowledged that their proposed policies, such as a ban on traditional Islamic headscarves, may have mobilized opponent voters
• ▪Voter turnout rose by about 10 percentage points in immigrant-heavy suburbs like Rinkeby, where approximately 94% of voters supported the center-left opposition
• ▪The Sweden Democrats won 62 seats in the Riksdag, representing a loss of 11 seats compared to the previous election in 2022
• ▪The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party experienced its first decline in support since entering parliament in 2010, dropping to 17.5% of the vote

Ulf Kristersson resignation

• ▪Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation on September 17, 2026, following the release of the final results of Sweden's September 13, 2026 parliamentary election
• ▪Ulf Kristersson submitted a resignation request to the speaker of the Riksdag in a letter posted on the social media platform X

Magdalena Andersson coalition negotiations

• ▪Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson, whose party won 99 seats, initiated talks to form a government with the Left, Centre, and Green parties
• ▪Magdalena Andersson, who served as Sweden's first female prime minister from 2021 to 2022, is expected to seek a return to the office

Government formation challenges

• ▪The narrow three-seat majority of Sweden's left-leaning opposition bloc led by Magdalena Andersson is expected to make legislative support and government formation highly complex
• ▪The Centre Party opposes joining a Swedish government led by Magdalena Andersson that includes cabinet posts for the Left Party, which has insisted on having a minister in that government

Debatable claims

• ▪Sweden should ban traditional Islamic headscarves
• ▪Sweden's next governing coalition should exclude Left Party cabinet ministers