Sweden opposition wins narrow majority as PM Ulf Kristersson resigns

Stockholm,UPDATED: Sep 17, 2026 19:40 IST

Sweden's left-leaning opposition has won a narrow majority in the country's national election, according to a complete vote count released on Thursday. The Swedish Election Authority said the four opposition parties secured 176 seats in the 349-member Riksdag, while the four parties that make up or support the outgoing conservative-led government won 173 seats.

Shortly after the final result was announced, centre-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a letter posted on X that he would resign as head of government. Opposition leader and former prime minister Magdalena Andersson said, according to Swedish news agency TT, that "the Swedish people have voted for a new direction for our country, voted for cohesion and against division".

It was not immediately clear what kind of government Sweden, NATO's newest member, will have for the next four years. Andersson is hoping to return as prime minister, a post she lost in 2022. Her centre-left Social Democrats remained the single largest party with 99 seats, despite losing eight seats.

Even so, Andersson is expected to face a complicated effort to turn the election result into a government because of tensions within the left-leaning bloc. The opposition's narrow lead was initially uncertain, but it was confirmed after early votes that did not reach polling stations by Election Day, including overseas ballots, were counted.

Kristersson had led Sweden through a three-party centre-right coalition that depended on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with far-right roots that has moved closer to the political mainstream. He had suggested the Sweden Democrats could get Cabinet positions if the ruling coalition returned to power. However, the election was disappointing for the party, which slipped to third place behind the Moderates and won 62 seats, 11 fewer than in the last parliament.

Andersson must also deal with differences within the opposition. The Centre Party aligned with the left because it does not want to govern with the Sweden Democrats, but it also does not want to enter a government with the Left Party, which is at the other end of the spectrum. Any arrangement cutting across the traditional right-left divide would also be difficult, although there is broad political agreement in Sweden on major issues such as support for Ukraine and the decision to join NATO, which it entered as the alliance's 32nd member in 2024.

In sum, the final count gave Sweden's left-leaning opposition a slender parliamentary majority, prompted Kristersson's resignation announcement, and set up a difficult government-formation process for Andersson despite her bloc's win.

With PTI Inputs

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