The bloc, headed by the Social Democrats’ leader Magdalena Andersson, was expected to win 175 seats in the 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag, based on votes from 5,960 of Sweden’s 6,312 election districts, the election authority said.
The right-wing governing bloc of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was seen winning 174 seats, with ballot-counting continuing.
The election could decide whether Kristersson’s push towards a hard-right clampdown on migration continues or even accelerates.
In a pre-election pledge, Kristersson broke a long-standing taboo and said he would bring into government the Sweden Democrats, a far-right party with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe, as he aims to create a majority-right coalition.
Many voters on the right in the nation of 10.6 million say a win would amount to an endorsement of policies that have helped to curb gang violence and cut immigration dramatically.
Kristersson’s critics say his immigration policies, with incentives and penalties that pressure migrants either to conform more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country, are undermining civil liberties.
Hours after voting had ended, Kristersson said he held on to hope that he could still cobble together a majority among the eight political groupings that secured seats in the Riksdag.
“Even if tonight’s results hold, I will explore whether it’s possible to find a viable government constellation … capable of securing support for the fiscal policy Swedish voters have voted for,” he said.
Andersson’s bloc is riven with differences over issues from migration to a tax on billionaires and construction of new nuclear reactors.
Electoral success for the Sweden Democrats would be welcomed by Europe’s ascendant far-right parties, which were bolstered by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) win in a German state election last week. (Reuters)
