On September 14, immigrants in Sweden expressed relief after the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats suffered a loss in parliamentary elections. The party saw their support drop to 17.6% from 20.6%, and lost more seats than any other party, contributing to a likely center-left majority government. In areas with large immigrant populations like Rinkeby, where they won nearly all the votes, residents celebrated the outcome as a step back for far-right policies.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 13, 2026, Sweden held a closely contested general election as voters decided whether to maintain the current right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson or shift towards a left-leaning opposition. With nearly 95% of ballots counted, preliminary results indicated that the center-left bloc was slightly ahead with 176 seats, compared to the incumbent government's 173 seats in the 349-seat parliament. The election centered on immigration policy and the potential inclusion of the far-right Sweden Democrats in the cabinet for the first time if Kristersson’s coalition wins, which has raised concerns among critics who fear erosion of civil liberties and increased pressure on immigrants to conform to Swedish cultural norms. Final results are expected after counting late votes and those from abroad, potentially extending uncertainty about forming a new government beyond early November.
Written for “Swedish Election Results” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.
Immigrants express relief after Sweden Democrats suffer election setback
STOCKHOLM, Sept 14 - Immigrants in Sweden expressed relief on Monday after voters dealt the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, whose rise helped drive the country's politics sharply to the right on immigration, their first setback in a parliamentary election.
After a nail-biting election night on Sunday, the centre-left looked likely to secure a slim majority in parliament.
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left → express → parliament
The Sweden Democrats lost more seats than any other party and looked set to win 17.6% of the vote, down three percentage points from four years ago.
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Democrats → lose → vote
In Rinkeby, one of Stockholm's suburbs with a large immigrant population, the centre-left bloc won 94% of the votes.
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bloc → win → votes
One resident, 59-year-old sociologist Kahin Ahmed, who is originally from Somalia, welcomed the result.
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who → welcome → result
"It's a huge relief," he said.
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he → say → ?
"I think people in the suburbs turned out to vote in large numbers because they were afraid the Sweden Democrats would make things worse."
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things → think → numbers
The Sweden Democrats, who in parliament have lent support to the right-wing minority government for the past four years while remaining outside the cabinet, in part campaigned on sending home larger numbers of immigrants and ending multiculturalism, with proposals such as a ban on traditional Islamic dress for women in public.
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who → lend → public
Sweden Democrat leaders blamed the loss on tactical voting for other right-wing parties and said that they had been punished for propping up the government for four years.
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they → blame → years
"That was always a risk," Richard Jomshof, a Sweden Democrat member of parliament, told Reuters.
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Jomshof → tell → Reuters
It hurts like hell, but it's just part of reality that we, too, can lose votes," he said.
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he → hurt → votes
Silvia Kakembo, founder of the Integration Bureau, a non-partisan organisation that promotes integration, said the Sweden Democrats' efforts to expel immigrants and their proposal to withdraw already granted residence permits had gone too far, helping mobilise some voters against them.
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efforts → promote → them
"I interpret this to mean that many people have considered this election important, maybe even existential," she said.
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she → mean → ?
The Sweden Democrats had grown steadily over decades, entering parliament for the first time in 2010 as voters balked at soaring levels of immigration.
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voters → grow → immigration
About 2.5 million people have immigrated to Sweden in the last 25 years.
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people → immigrate → years
Across town, in the suburb of Skarholmen, Celil Tamturk, 59, originally from Turkey, said he was very happy about the tentative result and that he had been put off by Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson's comments on Islam and immigrants.
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he → say → Islam
"If there were no immigrants here, after two days not working, what would happen?
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what → be → days
In schools, in healthcare, in the subway, there are immigrants everywhere," he said.
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he → be → subway
"Sweden would stop immediately."
Left-leaning parties that back the Social Democrats' leader Magdalena Andersson were projected to win 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament while Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's bloc was seen winning 173 seats, the election authority said.
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authority → stop → seats
Rau Amen, 70, who came from Iraq 44 years ago, said he was afraid that the Sweden Democrats were trying to create an "us versus them" mentality within the country.
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Democrats → come → country
"That is absolutely not what I want.
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I → want → what
Sweden has been fantastic so far, and I love Sweden.
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I → love → Sweden
I want things to be the way they used to be," he said.
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he → want → ?
