Elections in Sweden
Ordinary general elections are held in Sweden every four years to elect a new Riksdag, which is the Parliament of Sweden. County Council and Municipal Council elections take place at the same time. The next elections will be held in September, 2006. There is a barrier rule intended to prevent very small parties from gaining representation in the Parliament. A party must thus receive at least 4 percent of the votes in the entire country or 12 percent in a single electoral district to qualify for any seats. Every five years there is also an election to the European Parliament.
The unicameral parliament has 349 members, out of which 310 are elected on a proportional system in each of the 29 national electoral districts. The remaining 39 seats are awarded on a national basis to further secure a proportional representation.
In the election the voter chooses between the different running parties. Each party is represented by a ballot listing their candidates. On the ballot the voter can indicate his or her preference for a particular candidate. Eligible to vote and stand for elections are Swedish Citizens who turn 18 years old no later than on the day of the election.
A party must also pass a set limit of 4 percent nationally, or 12 percent in one of the 29 electoral districts, in order to be awarded seats in parliament. Elections are held on the third Sunday of September every four years. The next elections are due in September, 2006
As of September 15, 2002:
See also: Parliament of Sweden, Government of Sweden, Prime Minister of Sweden, Politics of Sweden
Table of contents
1 Elections to Parliament
2 Election resluts 2002
3 Election resluts in percent 1911-2002
4 References
Elections to Parliament
Election resluts 2002 Party votes seats Party leader
Social Democrat Party 39.9% 144 Göran Persson
Moderate Party 15.1% 55 Bo Lundgren
Liberal Party 13.3% 48 Lars Leijonborg[?]
Christian Democrat Party 9.1% 33 Alf Svensson[?]
Left Party 8.3% 30 Ulla Hoffman[?] (acting)
Center Party 6.2% 22 Maud Olofsson[?]
Green Party 4.5% 17 Peter Eriksson[?] and Maria Wetterstrand[?]
Others 3.6% -
Total 100.0% 349
Election resluts in percent 1911-2002
Year
(v)
(s)
(mp)
(fp)
(c)
(m)
(kd)
Various
Others
2002 8.3 39.9 4.5 13.3 6.2 15.1 9.1 (nyd) 3.6
1998 12.0 36.4 4.5 4.7 5.1 22.9 11.8 0.2 2.4
1994 6.2 45.3 5.0 7.2 7.7 22.4 4.1 1.2 1.0
1991 4.5 37.6 3.4 9.1 8.5 21.9 7.1 6.7 1.2
1988 5.8 43.2 5.5 12.2 11.3 18.3 2.9 0.7
1985 5.4 44.7 1.5 14.2 10.1 21.3 2.3 0.5
1982 5.6 45.6 1.7 5.9 15.5 23.6 1.9 0.2
1979 5.6 43.2 10.6 18.1 20.3 1.4 0.8
1976 4.8 42.7 11.1 24.1 15.6 1.4 0.4
1973 5.3 43.6 9.4 25.1 14.3 1.8 0.6
1970 4.8 45.3 16.2 19.9 11.5 1.8 0.4
1968 3.0 50.1 14.3 15.7 12.9 1.5 2.6
1964 5.2 47.3 17.0 13.2 13.7 1.8 1.8
1960 4.5 47.8 17.5 13.6 16.5 0.1
1958 3.4 46.2 18.2 12.7 19.5 0.0
1956 5.0 44.6 23.8 9.4 17.1 0.1
1952 4.3 46.1 24.4 10.7 14.4 0.1
1948 6.3 46.1 22.8 12.4 12.3 (sp) 0.1
1944 10.3 46.7 12.9 13.6 15.9 0.2 0.4
1940 3.5 53.8 12.0 12.0 18.0 0.7 0.0
1936 3.3 45.9 12.9 14.3 17.6 4.4 1.6
1932 3.0 41.7 11.7 14.1 23.5 5.3 0.7
1928 6.4 37.0 15.9 11.2 29.4 0.1
1924 5.1 41.1 16.9 10.8 26.1 (vs) 0.0
1921 4.6 36.2 19.1 11.1 25.8 3.2 0.0
1920 29.7 21.8 14.2 27.9 6.4 0.0
1917 31.1 27.6 8.5 24.7 8.1 0.0
1914 36.4 26.9 0.2 36.5 0.0
1914 30.1 32.2 0.0 37.7 0.0
1911 28.5 40.2 31.2 0.1
References