Swedes vote in close general election that could usher far right into government

Polling stations opened across Sweden on Sunday in a close general election that will see either the far right enter government for the first time or the left-wing opposition reclaim power.

Opinion polls have long credited the four parties in the left-wing bloc with a comfortable lead over conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's four-party alliance, which includes the far right Sweden Democrats.

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But the gap narrowed to a dead heat in the final days of the campaign.

"We all knew it was going to be a very close election, I've said that all along," Magdalena Andersson, the 59-year-old opposition leader and head of the centre-left Social Democrats, said at a campaign rally in Stockholm on the eve of the vote.

"Now it's up to voters: do they want a government that will be totally dominated by the Sweden Democrats, or do they want a government led by me?" said Andersson, the first woman to serve as prime minister in 2021-2022.

Her party, which governed the Scandinavian country for the better part of the 20th century and remains the biggest party, has pledged to bolster the welfare state and help struggling households cope with rising costs.

Outgoing Prime Minister Kristersson has meanwhile vowed to focus on improving Swedes' everyday lives now that his government's clampdown on organised crime and immigration had achieved its intended results.

An otherwise tranquil country, Sweden has endured over a decade of deadly shootings and bombings by organised crime networks. 

The violence has decreased significantly in recent years, and asylum applications are at a record low.

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"We want to use our new and far better preconditions to improve the lives of ordinary people ... to make Sweden great again," Kristersson told AFP, borrowing US President Donald Trump's famous catchphrase.

His three-party minority coalition cut a deal in 2022 with the Sweden Democrats giving them influence over government policy, in particular on immigration and crime, in exchange for their support in parliament.

Far-right leader Jimmie Akesson, who has headed the party for over two decades, is now hoping to enter government, culminating the party's meteoric rise since entering parliament in 2010.

Kristersson has promised the far-right key cabinet posts if the right-wing wins the election, with Akesson widely expected to be given the migration portfolio.

'We've already won!'

Akesson was confident of victory at a final election rally on Saturday in the Swedish capital.

"We've already won!" the 47-year-old said to thunderous applause in the Kungstradgarden Park.

"Sweden is becoming safer, better, and more Swedish," he said, surrounded by blue and yellow campaign posters blaring "Make Sweden Sweden Again".

Agneta Andersson, a 78-year-old pensioner, told AFP she was voting for the far-right. 

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"Like Jimmie, I want it to be like it was when I was young, in the old Sweden. I can't cope with all this violence in society."

Roman, a 22-year-old student, said he was still deliberating.

"I'm just trying to figure out which party I'm going to vote for tomorrow," he said.

Voting stations opened at 8:00am (0600 GMT) and will close at 8:00pm (1800 GMT) when exit polls will be published, with the first reliable results expected several hours later.

Some eight million people are eligible to vote, in a country of 10.6 million where voter turnout regularly tops 80 percent. 

Around half of voters have cast their ballots in advance.

If the right-wing were to win the election, the formation of a new government would be fairly straightforward.

But the four left-wing parties are splintered ideologically and tough negotiations would be needed to form a government even if they hold a majority.