General elections were held in Sweden on 13 September 2026 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag, alongside municipal and regional elections. The incumbent Ulf Kristersson cabinet was a coalition minority between the Moderate Party (M), the Christian Democrats (KD), and the Liberals (L), with external support from the Sweden Democrats (SD) under the Tidö Agreement. It was the first general election since Sweden joined NATO in 2024 and resulted in the left-leaning opposition winning a narrow parliamentary majority.
The main parties contested the election within two broad political blocs. The governing Tidö parties consisted of M, KD, L, and SD, while the opposition was led by the Social Democrats (S) under Magdalena Andersson, together with the Left Party (V), Centre Party (C), and Green Party (MP). The campaign focused heavily on immigration and integration, crime and law and order, the economy, healthcare, education, climate change, and energy policy. SD sought a formal role in government after supporting the Tidö government from outside the cabinet during the previous parliamentary term, making its potential entry into government one of the central issues of the campaign.
Opinion polls showed a closely contested election throughout the campaign. The opposition generally held an advantage in the final weeks, with several polls placing the four opposition parties above 50% of the vote, although their lead narrowed as election day approached. Exit polls initially indicated a wider opposition victory than the final result, with the first projections giving the opposition a clearer parliamentary advantage. The election nevertheless remained close until the final votes were counted, with the outcome ultimately determined by a small difference in support between the two blocs. The opposition primarily gained ground in the bigger cities and won unprecedented landslides in the four largest cities. The opposition also reduced deficits in much of the south and the outer county surrounding Stockholm, whereas the Tidö coalition made big gains in central and northern Sweden. This notably resulted in the Tidö coalition winning historically socialist counties Gävleborg and Värmland against the national trend. Many municipalities in former socialist strongholds likewise voted for the right for the first time in a national election, resulting in a very polarised map.
The opposition parties won a narrow parliamentary majority, securing 176 of the Riksdag's 349 seats, compared with 173 for the Tidö parties. S remained the largest party with 28.0% of the vote and 99 seats, while M overtook SD to become the second-largest party with 19.9% and 70 seats, as SD fell to third place with 17.5% and 62 seats. The result marked the first decline in support for SD at a general election since 1988, and S recorded their lowest vote and seat share since 1911. Following the result, Kristersson announced his resignation as prime minister and Andersson began negotiations with the opposition parties over the formation of a new government.
Background After the 2022 Swedish general election, a right-wing bloc consisting of the Moderates(M), Christian Democrats(KD), Liberals(L), and Sweden Democrats(SD) secured a narrow majority of seats in the Riksdag. One month of negotiations between them followed, leading to the Tidö Agreement that allowed the M party leader Ulf Kristersson to become prime minister and lead the Kristersson cabinet. It was a minority government of M, KD, and L with confidence and supply from SD. During the following term, the four parties became known as the Tidö parties.
The 2026 general election was the first parliamentary election in Sweden since the country acceded to NATO on 7 March 2024, which ended Swedish neutrality after more than 200 years of military non-alignment. Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland in 2022, following the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Electoral system
The Riksdag is made up of 349 seats elected by open lists and proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of 4% of the national vote or alternatively 12% within a single constituency. Of the 349 seats, 310 are elected from 29 constituencies ranging in size from 2 to 41 seats, while the other 39 seats are apportioned nationally as levelling seats to ensure parties that passed the 4% national threshold hold a proportional number of seats; these levelling seats are allocated to particular districts. If a party wins more constituency seats than it is entitled to overall, a redistribution of constituency seats may occur to reduce the number of constituency seats won by that party.
General elections are held on a fixed date, the second Sunday of September, at the same time as the municipal and regional elections. If early elections are called, the newly elected legislature only serves out the remainder of the four-year term begun by the previous legislature. Polls opened for Swedish citizens who resided abroad on 30 July 2026.
Political parties
The table below lists political parties represented in the Riksdag after the 2022 general election.
Name Ideology Political position Leader 2022 result Pre-election Votes (%) SeatsS Swedish Social Democratic Party Social democracy Centre-left Magdalena Andersson 30.3% SD Sweden Democrats Right-wing populism Right-wing to far-right Jimmie Åkesson 20.5% M Moderate Party Liberal conservatism Centre-right Ulf Kristersson 19.1% V Left Party Socialism Left-wing Nooshi Dadgostar 6.8% C Centre Party LiberalismNordic agrarianism Centre to centre-right Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist 6.7% KD Christian Democrats Christian democracy Right-wing Ebba Busch 5.3% MP Green Party Green politics Centre-left Amanda LindDaniel Helldén 5.1% L Liberals Conservative liberalism Centre-right Simona Mohamsson 4.6% Independents colspan="5"
Independents Going into the 2026 election, a record nine members of parliament resigned from the parties on which they were elected while remaining in parliament  – they are commonly referred to as (). Although elections take place on a by-party-basis, such members cannot be forced to resign from the Riksdag, as the mandates won in elections are personal.
Member Party From To Jamal El-Haj Social Democrats Unity Party Arin Karapet Moderate Party Sweden Democrats Marléne Lund Kopparklint Elsa Widding Sweden DemocratsAmbition Sweden Katja Nyberg Sara-Lena Bjälkö Christian Democrats Lorena Delgado Varas Left Party Future Left Daniel Riazat Momodou Malcolm Jallow
Campaign
According to an August 2026 Novus poll, voters considered the ten most important political areasranked from most to least importantto be healthcare, education, law and order, immigration/integration, elderly care, the economy, employment, the climate, taxes, and energy policy. Following the Fagersta school attack on 21 August 2026, several party leaders cancelled planned speeches ahead of the election. On the morning after the attack, more than 70 people, including party leaders Ulf Kristersson, Magdalena Andersson, Simona Mohamsson, and Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist gathered at a memorial site for the victims of the attack carrying flowers and lighting candles.
Potential governments The 2010s and 2020s have seen an increased difficulty for Swedish parties to reach agreements on government formation, keeping with a broader European trend of increased political fragmentation.
Tidö During the 2022–2026 Riksdag term, the government has been formed by the Moderates (M), Christian Democrats (KD), and Liberals (L), with the support and co-operation of the Sweden Democrats (SD), outside of the government but intimately involved in policy decisions, as regulated by the Tidö Agreement. This group is referred to as the "Tidö parties" or the "blue-yellow" alliance. In 2025, the Tidö parties announced their intention to continue their cooperation after the 2026 election. How they were going to cooperate was unclear, as SD said they would vote against any government which did not grant them cabinet positions, while L said they would continue to block SD from receiving cabinet positions.
On 13 March 2026, L and SD announced an agreement ("The Sweden Promise"), which would give SD cabinet positions if the Tidö coalition received a majority of seats. The agreement also included policy goals they would cooperate on, including a national referendum on adopting the euro as currency, coinciding with the 2030 general election. For most of the period 2022–2026, support for L has been well below the Riksdag's 4% electoral threshold according to opinion polls. This has been a concern for the Tidö parties' ability to maintain power and caused some in-fighting, with for example SD's Jimmie Åkesson telling Tidö supporters not to consider lending their vote to L unless they reach at least 3.5% in polls by 3 September.
Opposition The opposition to the Tidö government consisted of the left-leaning red-green bloc, consisting of the Social Democrats (S), Greens (MP) and Left Party (V), alongside the liberal and economically right-wing Center Party (C). The Center Party were in a coalition with the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals from 2004 up until the 2019 January Agreement, but unlike their former allies was not a part of the Tidö Agreement following the 2022 election, opposing entering into any coalition with the Sweden Democrats and any government reliant on their support. During the campaigning for the election, the Center Party, although maintaining that their ideal government would be themselves, M, KD and L, reaffirmed their total opposition to working with SD; however, they also campaigned on a promise to oppose any government that included the Left Party. The Left Party, meanwhile, campaigned on a promise to refuse to act as a support party for a government led by the Social Democrats, as the party has for much of its history, stating that they would oppose any government that they were not a part of. During the campaign, the contradictory positions of C and V raised questions over the feasibility of a left-wing government, with opinion polling showing that all four parties would very likely be needed for the opposition to command a majority.
Centrist government A third possible government that has received media attention is a centrist government containing S, MP, C, and KD. This is a preferred option for C, but MP are skeptical of the idea. Despite some prior "flirting" between Andersson (S) and Busch (KD), which had drawn criticism from Åkesson (SD), Busch said on 2 September that KD would vote against Andersson even if it would trigger a new election.
Returning politicians Former minister and contender for the leadership of the Liberals Birgitta Ohlsson announced on 18 March 2026 that she would be a parliamentary candidate for the Centre party. On 20 March, former Liberal leader (19972007) Lars Leijonborg announced his return to politics as a parliamentary candidate for the Liberals. Approximately a quarter of members of the Riksdag did not seek reelection, including half of the Liberal representatives.
Debates