Sweden’s centre-left Social Democrats and allies are poised to return to power after defeating the centre-right government, in a general election that also resulted in strong gains for an anti-immigration party.
With all voting districts tallied by Monday morning, the Social Democrat-led bloc won 43.7% of the vote while the ruling centre-right coalition, led by the Moderate Party, gained 39.3%.
But the anti-immigration far-right Sweden Democrats were celebrating large gains as the party won 12.9% of votes cast - more than doubling the 5.7% of votes won in the 2010 election.
“Sweden friends, party friends, now we’re Sweden’s third-largest party,” party leader Jimmie Akesson told cheering supporters late on Sunday.
With no majority reached, a complicated process of forming a government is expected as the centre-left pledged not to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats.
The outgoing coalition has made the same promise.
The Social Democrats’ leader and prime minister-designate, Stefan Lofven, a former union leader, reiterated this pledge in his midnight victory speech.
His party has said it will team up with the Greens, and in his speech, Lofven said he was “extending a hand” to “democratic parties,” stressing that Sweden was facing a new parliamentary situation.
“It’s time to put party interests aside,” he said. “Our country is too small for conflicts.”
The Social Democrats dominated Swedish politics during most of the 20th century and its single-party government ruled the country from 1994 to 2006 with support from allies.
The current prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, who led the country during eight years of tax reductions and pro-market reforms, said he would hand in his resignation on Monday and also leave the leadership of the Moderates in spring.
