Sweden’s election results on knife’s edge

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s right-wing parties had a razor-thin lead over the governing center-left coalition in the general election after the latest count Monday.

Some observers pointed out that it is still unlikely that Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's government could catch up with the results.

The ballots left to be counted are the votes abroad and “late” early votes. Traditionally these have no dramatically different distribution compared to the other votes.

Editorialist Anders Lindberg wrote in the Aftonbladet daily that it is “impossible for the left to win because the votes from abroad are usually in favor of the right."

With approximately 97% of the ballots counted, the right-wing coalition headed by the center-right Moderates secured 175 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, Sweden's parliament, preliminary results showed.

The center-left bloc led by the Social Democrats, meanwhile, had 174. The alliance is headed by Andersson.

Moderates party leader Ulf Kristersson said he was ready to do everything to "create a new, stable and capable government for the whole of Sweden and all citizens."

Andersson, who became Sweden’s first female prime minister less than a year ago, said "support for us has increased and it is clear that Swedish social democracy is strong.”

Final election results are expected on Thursday. If the results are confirmed, the right-wing group of parties will secure a parliamentary majority, paving the way for a transfer of power.