Record level of challenges after Sweden’s vote

The Sept. 13 election gave the four opposition parties, led by the Social Democrats, a three-seat majority over Kristersson’s alliance, which included the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.(AFP) — Swedish officials said Thursday they had received thousands of challenges to the results of this month’s general election, which the Social Democrat-led opposition narrowly won.Police and prosecutors said they were looking into reports of possible vote tampering after the Social Democrats and three other opposition parties narrowly defeated Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing alliance.More than 800 appeals have been registered, and another 9,000 are being processed, a representative of Sweden’s parliamentary Election Review Board told AFP in an email. The previous record was set after the 2018 election, when 767 appeals were registered.The Sept. 13 election gave the four opposition parties, led by the Social Democrats, a three-seat majority over Kristersson’s alliance, which included the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.The speaker of parliament has tasked Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson with trying to form a government.As Andersson works to unite an ideologically divided bloc, allegations of election fraud have drawn attention.Mohamed Abdukardir Ali, a relatively little-known representative of the socialist Left Party, won a seat in parliament after receiving an unusually high number of so-called personal votes. His party’s support is necessary for Andersson to form a government.In Sweden, voters cast ballots for parties but can also mark their preferred candidate to represent a party in parliament. If they do not, candidates are selected from a list set by the party.Ali, from the city of Borlänge, won the Left Party’s only parliamentary seat in the region after receiving hundreds of personal votes, even though he was ninth on the party’s list.The newspaper Aftonbladet reported allegations that someone had distributed ballots with Ali’s name already marked and that voters had been offered money.The Swedish Prosecution Authority said Thursday that it was investigating “improper influence on voting in Borlange linked to the Left Party.” It stressed that no arrests had been made and no one was formally suspected of a crime at this stage.In a separate statement, Swedish police said they had received 58 reports of election tampering. Police said complaints increased after reports about the case in Borlänge.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads