Conservatives ahead in Sweden's elections

 Europe

A coalition of conservative parties is ahead in Sweden's general election.  They are slightly ahead of the ruling party due to the rise of radical right-wing parties in the elections held on Sunday.  Al-Jazeera news.

 With 93 percent of the constituencies counting so far, the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals are on course to win 176 of the 349 seats in parliament.  And 173 seats are being won by the centre-left led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

 The result of the vote could still change, said Wolf Kristerson, the leader of the moderates, who lead the conservative coalition.  He said that he is ready to form a new and strong government.

Anderson's Social Democrats have been in power for eight years.  Anderson said, nothing can be said for sure about the results right now.  He didn't even admit defeat on polling night.

 Election authorities said that they do not see the possibility of announcing the final results before next Wednesday.  The results will be declared only after the counting of the last ballot of the overseas and advance polls.

 Traditional right-wing issues such as concerns about immigration, crime and shootings gained prominence in the election campaign.  But Anderson is seen as more popular than the party as it tackles the rising cost of living crisis caused by rising fuel prices.

Andersson held the finance ministry for seven years before becoming Sweden's first female prime minister last year.  Christerson, on the other hand, presented himself as the only candidate to unite the right-wing and remove him from power.

 The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are set to become Sweden's second largest party, replacing Kristerson's Moderates.  This is a historic change in the politics of a country long known for tolerance and liberality.

 Keeping the far right under control will now be difficult for Christerson.  The moderates led by him are going to get 19 percent votes in this election.  The far-right Sweden Democrats are going to get 20.5 percent of the vote.