When is sweden next election

It also needed support from the Left Party, which was not invited to the negotiations over the January agreement. Indeed, in the agreement it is clearly stated that the Left Party shall be denied any kind of political influence during the entire parliamentary period.

Still, the party accepted the new government since all other alternatives would have been worse. At the same time, the Left Party drew the line at two reforms listed in the agreement.

The party clearly indicated that if the government attempted to implement these reforms it would withdraw its support. This is what led to the current crisis. For critics of the reform, this legislation would lead to an increase in rent for millions of tenants and strengthen the power of landlords during rent negotiations. Consequently, the Left Party issued an ultimatum: abandon the proposal or the party would withdraw its support for the government.

Yet, this is exactly what happened. After the vote of no confidence, the Prime Minister had two options: either to resign and let the speaker of the parliament start a process to identify a new Prime Minister, or to call a new election. He went for the first option. One important reason is that even if a snap election were to be held in Sweden, an ordinary election would still be scheduled for September To arrange two national elections within a year is not an attractive proposition for any party.

At the same time, this might still be where Sweden ends up. The speaker has four chances to propose a new Prime Minister and if none of these candidates are tolerated by the parliament, a new election will automatically be called.

Currently, the speaker of the parliament is trying to see if any party can adjust its position and thereby enable a new government to be formed. However, the prospects of succeeding in this effort appear marginal at best. Since the election and the signing of the January agreement, the positions of the parties have changed dramatically.

The Liberal Party has decided it will not accept the continuation of a social democratic government and supports a right-wing conservative alternative. The problem is that such a right-wing government would need support from the Sweden Democrats.

Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously described Lofven as a caretaker Prime Minister. This content is not available in your region. Text size Aa Aa. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to resign in November Sweden's finance minister now frontrunner to become new prime minister. The Swedish electoral system is proportional. This means that the number of seats any one party obtains in the Riksdag is proportional to the number of votes the party received in the election.

There are seats in the Riksdag altogether. Once the county administrative boards have counted the votes, the seats should be distributed as fairly as possible among the parties. Any one particular party must receive at least 4 per cent of the votes to be assigned a seat. This results in there being fewer small parties in the Riksdag. Any party receiving at least 12 per cent of the votes in any one constituency can participate in the allocation of seats in that particular constituency.

The seats consist of fixed constituency seats and 39 adjustment seats. The number of fixed constituency seats in every constituency is based on the number of people eligible to vote in the constituency. The distribution of these seats reflects the election results in each constituency. The Election Authority allocates the fixed seats among the parties using a method known as the adjusted odd numbers method. In broad terms, the method allows the number of votes for each party to be divided by a series of numbers until all of the seats are allocated.

The purpose of the 39 adjustment seats is to make sure that the distribution of seats between the parties over the whole country should be as proportional in relation to the number of votes as possible. The adjustment seats are therefore allocated in a way that corresponds to the share of votes the party has received in the country as a whole.

They are allocated first according to party and then according to constituency. Finally the seats are distributed among the candidates. The parties' lists of candidates are then compared with the names the voters have marked. A candidate who is low down on a list can, for example, gain a seat in the Riksdag if 5 per cent of those voting for a certain party in any one constituency have marked their name on the voting slip.

If there is more than one name coming up to the 5 per cent level, the seats are allocated on the basis of the number of personal preference votes. When there are no longer any candidates with more than five per cent personal preference votes, the seats are distributed in the order they are listed on the party lists. A seat in the Riksdag is personal. If a member chooses to leave their party during an electoral period, they may remain in office in the Riksdag, but without party affiliation.