More than 8 million registered voters will cast ballots in Sweden's elections on September 13. Voters will elect members of 21 regional councils and 290 municipal councils on the same day as they vote for the 349 seats in parliament.
Polling stations will open at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Türkiye time.
The gap between the two political blocs is 3.2 percentage points
In the latest public opinion polls, the center-left bloc comprising the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, the Greens and the Left Party is polling at 50.8 percent.
The right-wing bloc, comprising the governing Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, along with the Sweden Democrats, which support the government from outside, is polling at 47.6 percent. The figures show that the gap between the two blocs in the election race is narrow.
Analysts believe that the Sweden Democrats, which are not currently formally part of the government, could join the cabinet directly for the first time after the election.
Muslim voters discussed in televised debate
Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the Sweden Democrats, and Amanda Lind, a representative of the Green Party, disagreed over Muslim voters during a televised debate broadcast on Swedish public television SVT.
Åkesson claimed that left-wing parties were conducting election campaigning in mosques and trying to win voter support through this approach. Lind argued that right-wing parties were targeting ordinary Muslims.
Lind said it was a terrible statement to suggest that ordinary Muslims who attend mosques and vote are seen as a problem.
Turnout in Sweden's most recent elections, held in 2022, was recorded at 84 percent.
