EU-DIGEST: Sweden elections 2018

9/9/18

Sweden elections 2018 — live updates

After Sweden's most important election in decades first results show the center-left and center-right blocs are neck-and-neck. The far-right Sweden Democrats have made significant gains to hold third place.

Sweden's SVT public broadcaster reported first results giving the center-left Social Democrats first place with 28.4 percent of the vote. The Moderates are at 19.8 percent and the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) — a party with neo-Nazi roots — in third place with 17.6 percent.
Sweden's left-wing governing bloc — made up of the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party — is at 40.6 percent, compared with 40.2 percent for the four-party center-right opposition led by the conservative Moderate Party. If the results stand, each of the two groups would take 143 of 349 seats, well short of the 175 needed for a majority.
Polling ended at 8:00 pm (1800 UTC) and, most results came in before midnight (2200 UTC), but it may take weeks before a new government emerges.