Sweden will hold parliamentary elections on Sunday, September 13, 2026, to determine the composition of the 349-seat Riksdag. The election features a contest between Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s center-right coalition and a center-left bloc led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats. Kristersson has stated that the Sweden Democrats, a populist right-wing party, would receive ministerial posts for the first time if his coalition retains power.
The Sweden Democrats, led by Jimmie Åkesson since 2005, have spent two decades moving toward the political mainstream. Historically, Swedish parties maintained a "firewall" around the group due to its early connections to neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements, which the party acknowledged in a 2022 white paper. After becoming the country's second-largest party in 2022, they provided external support to Kristersson's minority government through the "Tidö agreement," gaining influence over policy without holding cabinet seats.
Polling data indicates a narrow race. An Indikator Opinion poll from September 2–10 placed the center-left coalition at 50.8% against the right-wing bloc's 47.6%. A Novus/TV4 poll showed a gap of 2.6 percentage points, with the opposition at 50.3%. The Liberal Party, a member of the current governing coalition, is polling at 3.3%, which is below the 4% threshold required for parliamentary representation. If they fail to meet this threshold, the opposition is projected to hold 186 seats compared to 163 for the right-wing parties.
The election affects the governing structure for Sweden's population of approximately 11 million people. If the right-wing coalition wins and includes the Sweden Democrats in the cabinet, it would formalize the party's transition to a governing partner with direct control over national departments. This follows a period where the party already influenced policy on immigration and crime, contributing to a shift where even the Social Democrats have adopted more restrictive migration stances.
The scale of the policy shift is reflected in migration and crime statistics. Sweden received 163,000 asylum applications during the 2015 migration crisis, one of the highest per-capita rates in Europe, but the current government reports that asylum immigration has fallen to its lowest levels since 1985. Additionally, police data shows gang shootings decreased from 391 in 2022 to 158 in 2025. Voters will notice the outcome of this election in the management of the national welfare state, as 64% of citizens cited healthcare as a top concern, followed by schools and eldercare.
A victory for either bloc will set the precedent for how Sweden manages its political landscape. A center-left victory would require Magdalena Andersson to navigate a coalition involving the Center Party, which refuses to work with the Left Party, while the Left Party has stated it will vote against any government in which it lacks representation. Conversely, a right-wing victory would test the stability of a majority cabinet containing the Sweden Democrats. The final results will be determined after polls close on September 13, 2026, followed by consultations led by the speaker of the Riksdag to propose a candidate for prime minister.