Sweden's general election was too close to call early Monday, as the incumbent prime minister and the left-wing opposition leader both said they were ready to govern and the far right was seen losing ground.
With almost 90 percent of votes counted, four opposition parties led by Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson, held a one-seat majority in the 349-seat parliament over Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing alliance, which includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
"For now, we are in the lead. And if that is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government," 59-year-old Andersson, who was Sweden's first woman prime minister in 2021-2022, told her supporters.
But her party -- which ruled the Scandinavian country for most of the 20th century and remains Sweden's largest -- also looked to be heading for its worst score in over a century with 28 percent of the vote.
Outgoing prime minister Kristersson, whose Moderate Party was credited with 19.9 percent of the counted votes, meanwhile said that if the result stood, he would respect Andersson's attempts to try to form a government with the three other parties on the left.
But he noted that the four had irreconcilable differences, primarily between the Left Party and the Centre Party, and were unlikely to agree on a government programme.
Read moreSweden Election Aftermath: A hard night for the hard right?
"I will therefore, even if tonight's result stands, examine whether there are any possibilities within this non-socialist parliamentary majority to find some workable government constellation," Kristersson told his supporters.
"Which government is going to govern Sweden in the coming years is still an open question," Kristersson declared.
In a big surprise, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which entered parliament in 2010, lost support for the first time, garnering 17.6 percent of the vote, down from 20.5 percent in 2022.
"We don't yet have the full election result, but it's obvious that we've lost a few percentage points compared with our result four years ago," party leader Jimmie Akesson told an election night watch party.
Now mainstream
But he said it was a success that supporters were no longer afraid to show their support for the party long seen as political pariah.
"There are now so many more people around our country who no longer find it difficult to say that they are Sweden Democrats," Akesson said.
With such a close result, the final outcome might not be clear for a few days, several party leaders said.
Municipal election authorities will start counting votes on Wednesday that had not reached their destination on election night.
In Sweden, all votes are also automatically recounted by the regional county administrative boards, which establishes the final result. This process usually takes a week.
Kristersson has headed a minority coalition backed by the Sweden Democrats for four years, giving the far-right influence over policy in exchange for support in parliament.
Kristersson had promised the Sweden Democrats key cabinet posts if the right-wing won.
Throughout the campaign, opinion polls gave a comfortable lead to the left-wing opposition, but the gap narrowed to a dead heat in the final days.
Much of the campaign focused on healthcare and helping struggling households cope with rising costs.
Andersson, the first woman to head Sweden's government in 2021-2022, has pledged to raise taxes on banks and high incomes, cut healthcare queues, and improve declining school results.
Read moreSweden: Tight election puts all eyes on the far right
'Make Sweden Great Again'
Kristersson meanwhile vowed to focus on improving Swedes' everyday lives now that his government's clampdown on organised crime and immigration was starting to show results.
Deadly shootings and bombings by organised crime networks have fallen sharply in recent years, while asylum applications are at a record low.
"We want to use our new and far better preconditions to improve the lives of ordinary people... to make Sweden great again," Kristersson told reporters before the vote, borrowing US President Donald Trump's trademark slogan.
Over the past two decades, far-right leader Jimmie Akesson has steered the party with neo-Nazi roots into the mainstream.
"Sweden is becoming safer, better, and more Swedish," Akesson told a campaign rally on Saturday, surrounded by blue-and-yellow "Make Sweden Sweden Again" posters.
At a polling station on Sunday, store manager Linda Eriksson, 48, told reporters she hoped for a change of government.
"Hopefully a lot of people will realise that we have to change course... so that everyone will feel included in society," she said.
(the broadcaster with AFP)
