Sweden: What drove Mohamed Abdukardir Ali’s surprise rise to parliament? Borlänge voters say they backed him to make a difference
Mohamed Abdukardir Ali’s surprise rise from ninth place on the Left Party’s Dalarna list to a seat in Sweden’s parliament has drawn attention to the personal-vote support he built in Borlänge.
According to Omni, citing Dagens Nyheter, Ali secured a large share of his personal votes in the Tjärna allé electoral district in north-western Borlänge. Residents interviewed there offered a straightforward explanation for the support: they believed he could make a difference.
“Many think he will make a difference, so they voted for him,” resident Hassan Abdalle Ali told DN.
From ninth place to parliament
Ali, 30, received 648 personal votes. SVT reported that the result moved him from ninth place on the Left Party’s Dalarna list into parliament. Ali has described the result as both a great honour and a major responsibility.
His unexpected breakthrough has also attracted scrutiny because he had been a party member for only about a year and had not run a personal campaign. A separate police investigation into suspected improper influence during voting in Borlänge has been reopened following new information. Ali has denied wrongdoing.
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