Sweden starts counting final batch of votes
Sweden started counting the last early and overseas votes today, but the Swedish Election Authority explained in a press release that an unusually large number of overseas votes and the late delivery of many early votes to polling stations had delayed the vote count, meaning it will not be completed until Thursday.
"We are expecting a greater number of votes this year than in previous elections. We can't know the number in advance, but we estimate that we're talking about close to 300,000 votes in this year's election," said Anna Nyqvist, head of the Swedish Election Authority’s administrative office.
"This means that the cumulative count will probably take a long time in many municipalities and that we will not have a preliminary updated result for the parliamentary election until Thursday."
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In Swedish elections, the election board, or valnämnden, in each municipality has full responsibility for handling voting and vote-counting. The boards are also responsible for the so-called onsdagsrösterna, or Wednesday votes, the early and overseas votes that could not be counted on election night.
Rather than being counted at individual polling stations, these are counted in 314 aggregate uppsamlingsdistrikt, or "collection districts", with the finished vote than passed to the county administrative boards, or länsstyrelserna for checking.
As the count stands at present, the four opposition parties have 176 seats while the Tidö parties backing the current government have 173. (The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: to count – att räkna
Top Sweden Democrat official returns to work following Russia controversy
Senior Sweden Democrat official Gustav Gellerbrant went on parental leave just before the election after an investigation by anti-racism magazine Expo sparked concerns that his Russian partner, who had allegedly spent around a decade sharing Russian propaganda and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media, could constitute a security risk.
Now, the far-right party has announced that he is due to resume his duties shortly, reports public broadcaster SVT.
The Sweden Democrats told SVT that Gellerbrant, who serves as head of the party's coordination office within the government offices, will be returning to work very soon.
"There is no reason for us to second-guess the government offices' assessment regarding Gustav. He will therefore return to duty shortly and work as normal," the party stated in an email to SVT.
The broadcaster also reported that Gellerbrant was seen attending a meeting at the party's parliamentary offices on Tuesday. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: parental leave – föräldraledighet
Late surge of votes saved Sweden's Liberals
Two-thirds of Liberal voters made up their minds during the final week before the election or on election day itself.
That's a record high, according to public broadcaster SVT's exit poll.
"It's a clear indication that these are borrowed voters, or voters who perhaps aren't primarily passionate about the Liberals," said political scientist Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson.
Among Swedes in general, 32 percent made up their minds on election day or in the final week leading up to it.
Another sign of the widespread tactical voting for the Liberals is that only 36 percent of the party's 2022 voters stuck with them in this year's election, according to the exit poll.
Of those who voted for the Liberals this year, a whopping 42 percent voted for the Moderates in 2022. Nine percent of those who backed the party this year had voted for the Sweden Democrats four years ago, while another nine percent came from the Christian Democrats.
Only 22 percent of respondents said Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson was very important to their choice of party.
"That is a low figure. Compare that to Jimmie Åkesson's well over 50 percent," said Ekengren Oscarsson.
Nor was Magdalena Andersson the same vote magnet for the Social Democrats that she was in the 2022 election, slipping from 36 percent to 25 percent.
Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction, climbing from 28 percent to 37 percent in significance. Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson remained stable at 23 percent. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: to make up one's mind – att bestämma sig
Candy Crush creator King faces strike threat in collective bargaining row
Several trade unions are threatening industrial action against King, the gaming company behind Candy Crush Saga, after the firm refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement.
Engineers of Sweden and Unionen announced the planned strike at the company's offices in Stockholm and Malmö.
The strike will get under way on September 25th unless a resolution is reached beforehand.
The action affects 100 members of Engineers of Sweden.
"Strike action is not something we take lightly, but the signal from our members at King is clear: they want us to take the next step to secure their working conditions and influence. Our hope, of course, is to reach a solution before the strike breaks out," said Camilla Frankelius, head of negotiations at Engineers of Sweden, in a statement. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: a strike – en strejk