Sweden Democrats lose ground in 285 of 290 municipalities as setback spreads nationwide
Euro Times – Stockholm
New data from Sweden’s 2026 election results reveal the broad geographical scale of the Sweden Democrats’ setback. The party’s share of the parliamentary vote fell in 285 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities compared with the 2022 election.
According to a TT compilation based on data from the Swedish Election Authority, the party fell by about 3 percentage points nationwide, the largest decline among the parliamentary parties in this election.
The Sweden Democrats increased their share in only four municipalities, while the result was unchanged in one. The setback was therefore not confined to one region but stretched across almost the entire country.
More than 215,000 fewer votes than in 2022
The party lost more than 215,000 votes compared with the 2022 election and received around 17.5 percent of the parliamentary vote in the preliminary result, down three percentage points.
The figures are politically significant because they mark the first decline for the Sweden Democrats in a parliamentary election since entering the Riksdag in 2010, after a succession of elections in which the party had continuously advanced.
Hällefors records the biggest drop
The largest decline was recorded in Hällefors in Örebro County, where the party lost 7.3 percentage points. It was followed by Östra Göinge in Skåne, down 6.6 points, Bjuv 6.5 points, Ockelbo 6.4 points and Torsås 6.3 points.
In Skåne, historically one of the party’s strongest regions, SVT reported that the Sweden Democrats lost support in the parliamentary election in all 33 municipalities. The number of municipalities in Skåne where the party is the largest also fell from 11 after the 2022 election to eight.
Why did the party lose support?
Political scientist Andreas Johansson Heinö said the decline was larger than expected, particularly because opinion polls had usually placed the Sweden Democrats second behind the Social Democrats.
He suggested that some voters may have preferred the three centre-right parties in government. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson has also said that some of his party’s voters voted tactically for other Tidö parties, especially the Liberals, to help them remain above the parliamentary threshold.
The party is also facing competition from smaller parties and movements on the right. Its transformation from a small protest party into one of Sweden’s largest political forces has created a broader and potentially less stable electoral base.
Clear decline among young voters
Other indicators suggest the problem is not only geographical. In Sweden’s school election, the Sweden Democrats fell by 7 percentage points to 13.8 percent, the largest decline among the parties, while SVT data also indicated a marked drop among the youngest voters.
The result does not remove the Sweden Democrats from the centre of Swedish politics; the party remains one of the country’s largest. But losing ground in 285 of 290 municipalities turns the 2026 result from a simple loss of seats into a broad nationwide setback that the party will need to analyse ahead of the next political phase.
