Sweden votes Sunday with far right eyeing cabinet seats

Sweden goes to the polls on Sunday, September 13, in a tightly contested parliamentary election that will decide whether Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson secures a second term and, for the first time, whether the Sweden Democrats enter government with cabinet posts. More than 8 million voters in the nation of about 10.6 million are eligible to elect the 349-seat Riksdag in Stockholm, which in turn will choose the next prime minister. Polls open from 0600 GMT to 1800 GMT on election day, though early voting has been possible since late August. Kristersson has led a three-party center-right coalition since 2022, relying on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with far-right roots, for a parliamentary majority. In April, he announced that his Moderates would allow the Sweden Democrats into government if the right wins a majority, though he would remain prime minister even if the Sweden Democrats emerge as the stronger party. He told reporters in late August that the bloc had agreed to campaign on building a common majority government under his leadership.