Sweden General election 2026 (Riksdag) — Results

At a glance

Sweden holds its general election on Sunday 13 September 2026, when roughly 7.7 million eligible voters renew all 349 seats of the Riksdag, the unicameral national parliament, and simultaneously elect the country's 20 regional councils and 290 municipal councils. The date is not chosen by the government: Sweden's constitution fixes ordinary general elections for the second Sunday of September every four years, so the campaign calendar is known years in advance. The 2026 vote is the first nationwide test of the centre-right government led by Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson, who took office in October 2022, and a referendum on the cooperation between his coalition and the national-conservative Sweden Democrats that has reshaped Swedish politics.

How the vote works

The Riksdag is elected by party-list proportional representation, one of the purest proportional systems in Europe. Of the 349 seats, 310 are permanent constituency seats distributed across 29 multi-member constituencies, and a further 39 are national "adjustment" or levelling seats used to correct any distortions so that each party's seat share closely matches its national vote share. To win any seats a party must clear a threshold of 4% of the national vote, or alternatively 12% within a single constituency. Voters may cast a personal preference vote for an individual candidate on their chosen party's list, which can re-order who is elected. Sweden has no separate head-of-government election: after the vote, the Speaker of the Riksdag nominates a prime-ministerial candidate, who is confirmed unless an absolute majority of members votes against — the "negative parliamentarism" rule that allows minority governments to form.

The political landscape

Swedish politics is organised around two loose blocs. On the centre-left sit the Social Democrats — historically the country's dominant party and a force in government for most of the twentieth century — together with the Left Party, the Greens and, increasingly, the Centre Party. On the centre-right and right sit the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, who since 2022 have governed with the parliamentary support of the Sweden Democrats under the so-called Tidö Agreement. That arrangement broke a long taboo: for years the established parties refused to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats because of the party's roots, and their inclusion as a governing partner marked a historic realignment. The Social Democrats, led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, remain the largest single party and hope to rebuild a governing majority.

Key issues

The dominant theme of recent years has been law and order. A wave of gang-related shootings and bombings, among the worst rates of gun violence in Europe, has pushed crime and integration to the top of the agenda and underpinned the right's 2022 victory. Immigration policy, the cost of living and high interest rates, electricity prices and the future of nuclear power, and Sweden's defence posture after it joined NATO in March 2024 — ending two centuries of military non-alignment — are all likely to feature heavily. Climate policy and the green transition, including the electrification of heavy industry in the north, also divide the blocs.

The last election (2022)

The September 2022 election produced one of the closest results in modern Swedish history, with the right-of-centre bloc edging the left by 176 seats to 173. Although the Social Democrats again finished as the largest party, the Sweden Democrats overtook the Moderates to become the second-largest, reshaping the right and paving the way for Kristersson's government. Turnout was 84.21%.

What to watch in 2026

The central question is whether the governing bloc can renew its wafer-thin majority or whether the Social Democrats can assemble an alternative. Watch the Sweden Democrats' trajectory — whether they consolidate or slip — the survival of the smaller coalition partners against the 4% threshold (the Liberals in particular have hovered near it), and the Greens and Centre Party on the left flank. Because the result hinges on such fine margins, the levelling seats and the final postal and overseas count can decide control of the chamber.

How the regions voted

Sweden's electoral geography is well established. The Social Democrats and the broader left draw their strongest support from the industrial north, parts of the densely populated south and the inner cities, while the Moderates do best in affluent suburbs around Stockholm and on the west coast. The Sweden Democrats have built their heaviest support in the rural south, especially the regions of Skåne and Blekinge. The three metropolitan areas — Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö — together account for a large share of the 349 seats, so swings in the big cities and their commuter belts frequently decide which bloc can assemble a majority.

How ElectioMap will cover it

On election night this page shows the official preliminary count as Valmyndigheten publishes it: the national vote share for every party, turnout, and an interactive map of Sweden's 21 counties aggregated from the 29 constituencies. Every figure is captioned with how many of the polling districts it rests on, because a party's share early in the evening reflects whichever districts happened to report first. No exit polls are published here. While counting continues, the page shows the seats each party would win if the count stopped at that moment, calculated with the Riksdag's own formula from the votes counted so far and labelled as a projection; the official distribution replaces it once the count is complete. Figures come directly from the Swedish Election Authority's own results service, not from secondary trackers.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 Swedish general election?

Sweden votes on Sunday 13 September 2026, the constitutionally fixed second Sunday of September every four years. Voters elect all 349 members of the Riksdag, and municipal and regional councils are chosen on the same day.

Who is the current Prime Minister of Sweden?

Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party has been Prime Minister since October 2022, leading a three-party centre-right government (Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals) supported in parliament by the Sweden Democrats under the Tidö Agreement.

How does the Swedish electoral system work?

The Riksdag is elected by proportional representation. 310 fixed constituency seats are distributed across 29 multi-member constituencies and 39 adjustment ("levelling") seats correct national proportionality. A party must win at least 4% of the national vote, or 12% in a single constituency, to take any seats.

Which parties are likely to compete?

The eight parties currently in the Riksdag are the Social Democrats, Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Centre Party, Left Party, Christian Democrats, Greens and Liberals. The Social Democrats have been the largest party in every election since 1917.

When will results be available?

Polls close at 20:00 and a preliminary count is normally reported the same evening, with the final certified result (including postal and overseas votes) confirmed by the Swedish Election Authority within about a week. Live figures and an interactive map will appear on this page as counting begins.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.