- Published
Sweden's general election remains too close to call with the left-wing bloc marginally ahead as the vote count continues.
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count → publish → ?
With more than 90% of ballots processed early on Monday, the left-wing bloc was in front by approximately 20,000 votes.
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bloc → process → votes
Preliminary counts by Sweden's electoral authority projected the Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson would likely finish with a three-seat majority over the rival four-party coalition led by current conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
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Andersson → project → Kristersson
Kristersson has been supported in government by the hard-right Sweden Democrats (SD), which have neo-Nazi roots.
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which → support → roots
He has promised cabinet jobs for the SD if he stays in charge.
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he → promise → charge
Early on Monday morning, Kristersson said it remained unclear who would form the next government.
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who → say → government
"The voters have had their say, but we still don't have a final result.
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we → have → result
Which government will lead Sweden in the coming years is still an open question," he told supporters.
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he → lead → supporters
No major media outlets have declared a winner yet.
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outlets → declare → winner
Sweden uses a mandate distribution voting system, a proportional representation method to elect "mandates", or "seats", in the Riksdag – the Swedish parliament.
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Sweden → use → Riksdag
A party needs at least 4% of the vote to enter parliament.
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party → need → parliament
With 95% of votes reported, the left-wing bloc led by the Social Democrats was ahead with 176 mandates compared to the right-wing bloc's 173.
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bloc → report → 173
Counting will continue on Wednesday before the final results determine which side has a clearer path to majority.
The counting restarts then to include early votes that were submitted late, as well as votes from abroad that did not arrive before election day.
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that → continue → day
It is not yet known how many votes will be counted on Wednesday, but back in 2022, more than 220,000 votes were included in the later count.
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votes → know → count
If the figures are similar this year, Wednesday's count could make the difference in the outcome, given that only about 28,000 votes currently separate the blocs.
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votes → make → blocs
Sweden has two major political blocs featuring four parties on the right and four on the left - meaning coalition and minority governments are relatively common.
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governments → have → left
On Sunday night, Andersson - the leader of the country's main opposition party - urged supporters to wait for the final result, but added that if the current results hold, "Sweden will have a new government."
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Sweden → urge → government
But SD - founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s - had been shunned for years until 2022 when it became the country's second largest party after campaigning on violent crime and immigration.
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it → found → crime
Both Andersson's party and the far-right SD have lost support, according to early count results.
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party → lose → results
As of Monday morning, the Social Democrats were on track for their worst result in more than a century with 28 per cent, while the count showed the hard-right SD party was losing support for the first time since 2010 when it entered the Riksdag.
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it → show → Riksdag
Other parties comprising the left-wing bloc, including the Left Party, Greens and Centre Party have increased their support.
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parties → comprise → support
Turnout also dropped to approximately 80%, down four points compared to the 2022 poll.
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Turnout → drop → poll
After casting her vote on Sunday, Andersson laid out the choice facing the Swedish public: "Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before?
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that → cast → Sweden
Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of co-operation?"
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which → have → operation
Kristersson, for his part, said it was important he and his alliance were able to continue their work.
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he → say → work
"I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work," he said after casting his ballot in his home municipality of Strangnas.
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he → think → Strangnas
National security, gang crime and welfare spending dominated the election campaign.
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security → dominate → campaign
The Aporia
