Politiska val och partier (elections and political parties): our walkthrough of chapter 4 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus

How often are there elections?

The riksdag, the regional councils and the municipal councils are elected every four years. The election to the European Parliament is instead held every five years. The European Parliament’s term is thus one year longer than the Swedish one, so the EU election and the riksdag election seldom fall in the same year.

Sometimes the people can also vote in a referendum (folkomröstning), where they answer a single question. Referendums in Sweden are advisory. This means the result is advice to the politicians. They do not have to follow it. In 2003 Swedes voted on whether Sweden should change its currency. The No side won, and Sweden kept the krona.

Who may vote?

You must be at least 18 to vote. The age limit is the same in all elections: the riksdag election, the regional election, the municipal election and the EU election. The other requirements, however, differ between elections.

To vote in the riksdag election you must also be a Swedish citizen. Other rules apply in the municipal and regional elections.

How voting works

Some time before the election, a polling card (röstkort) is sent to your home by post. The card says which polling station (vallokal) you should vote at.

At the polling station there are ballot papers (valsedlar) for the parties standing. You take the ballot paper you want and go behind a screen. There no one can see which party you choose, and that is why voting is secret.

Political parties

A political party is a group of people who think alike about how society should be run. Based on that shared view, the party puts forward its proposals and solutions.

The way into politics is open. If you want to help shape politics, you can join a party that already exists, or you can start a new one together with others who think like you.

Before an election there is an election campaign (valrörelse). The parties then try to reach voters to explain their policies. They do so in streets and squares, in debates, at meetings, with advertising and in campaigns.

How are the votes counted?

Elections in Sweden are proportional. This means that the parties get seats according to the share of the votes they received. If a party gets a quarter of the votes, it gets about a quarter of the seats. Since a party seldom gets more than half of the seats, the parties usually have to reach agreement with each other.

There is a threshold against very small parties. A party that gets too small a share of the votes gets no seats in the riksdag. The rule exists so that not too many parties get in. With many very small parties in the riksdag, it would be harder to create stable majorities behind decisions.

In regional and municipal elections there are often parties that are not in the riksdag. Such a party typically has a policy only for its own municipality or region and does not pursue policy at national level.