Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday conceded the defeat of the left and a parliamentary election made up of right and far-right parties after an almost complete vote count in a very tight ballot. As a result, the Social Democratic leader has announced his resignation, which will be officially handed in on Thursday.
The coalition, made up of three right-wing parties and the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) party, “has a small majority, but still has a majority,” he told a news conference. “Therefore, I am requesting to be relieved of my post as Prime Minister tomorrow (Thursday) and the remaining responsibilities will be handed over to the Speaker of Parliament,” he added.
read more: In Sweden, the far right is emerging as a major political force
A tight election
According to near-final results covering more than 99% of polling stations, the right/far-right bloc led by conservative Ulf Kristerson will win 176 seats, while the left bloc led by Magdalena Andersen will get 173 seats.
Sunday’s elections were so tight that we had to wait for the counting of some tens of thousands of missing ballots on Wednesday to verify the complete results. At around 7:45pm local time on Wednesday (5:45pm GMT) only a few people in the offices were missing.
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