Sweden's centre-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced he will resign after the left-wing opposition secured a narrow victory in the country's general election.
The Swedish Election Authority confirmed that the four left-wing opposition parties won 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag. The four parties supporting the outgoing conservative-led government took 173 seats, giving the left-wing bloc a slim three-seat majority.
Only about 50,000 votes separated the two sides in a country of 10.6 million people.
Shortly after the results were announced, Kristersson posted a letter on social media confirming his intention to step down. "Now, it is the speaker who will lead the next stage of the way to a new government. I am henceforth requesting that I be relieved of the office of prime minister to allow that work to start immediately," he wrote.
Former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's centre-left Social Democrats finished as the largest single party, despite losing some support. The result strengthens her prospects of returning to the role she lost in 2022, though she faces a complicated path to forming a government.
The left-leaning bloc is made up of the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Greens, and the Centre Party. Andersson, who served as Sweden's first female prime minister from 2021 to 2022 and as finance minister for seven years before that, will need to bridge significant ideological divisions within the coalition.
The Centre Party has said it will oppose any government that includes cabinet posts for the Left Party. The Left Party, however, has insisted on ministerial representation. Andersson has ruled out giving the Left Party cabinet positions but wants their parliamentary support.
On election night, Kristersson said he would respect Andersson's efforts to form a government, but wished her "good luck" given the divisions within her bloc. Parliament can vote on a new prime minister on September 29 at the earliest.
In a notable development, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats lost support for the first time since entering parliament in 2010, receiving 17.5 percent of the vote — down three percentage points from the 2022 election.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the outcome. "Social democracy has won the elections in Sweden. After four years of a right-wing government with the far right, the Swedes are once again backing the welfare state, social justice and the green agenda," he wrote on social media.
