Stockholm, Sept. 14 (SANA) Sweden’s general election remained too close to call on Monday, with preliminary results showing only a narrow gap between the left- and right-wing blocs as both Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and opposition leader Magdalena Andersson said they were prepared to form the next government.
With about 90% of ballots counted, the opposition bloc led by the Social Democrats held a one-seat lead over the governing center-right alliance, according to Agence France-Presse.
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, meanwhile, lost ground and dropped from second place among the country’s political parties for the first time since entering parliament in 2010.
Andersson said the current results placed the opposition in the lead and gave it a chance to form a government.
Kristersson acknowledged that Andersson could seek to build the next government, but said divisions among opposition parties could complicate efforts to form a stable coalition.
The vote is Sweden’s first general election since the country joined NATO two and a half years ago, ending decades of military non-alignment.
N.J/ABD
