UPDATED: Who are the winners and losers of Sweden's EU election?

Sweden had on Thursday finished counting all its votes in the EU election.

The votes will now be double checked by the county administrative boards. After they've recounted all of them, as is standard procedure, the Election Authority will make the formal decision on the allocation of seats and who Sweden will send to the European Parliament.

The final result is expected to be announced on Friday.

Social Democrats

Results: 25.34 percent (+1.86 percentage points)

Seats: 5 (no change)

Mini analysis: Although 1.86 percentage points seems like a minor improvement on the Social Democrats' results in the 2019 EU election – and the result is worse than what the party normally gets in national elections – this is the first EU election ever in which the party has grown. Considering that the Social Democrats are also polling relatively strongly in national polls, they will likely see it as a positive sign ahead of the 2026 election.

Moderates

Results: 16.86 percent (+0.3)

Seats: 4 (no change)

Mini analysis: Again a slight increase, but the right-wing Moderates manage to hold on to their spot as Sweden's second-biggest party. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed it as a unique performance, as it's normally considered difficult for the governing party to grow in EU elections.

Green Party

Results: 14.08 percent (+2.56)

Seats: 3 (no change)

Mini analysis: Although they normally do perform better on an EU than a national level, the Greens are the surprise stars of the election, besting both their previous result and polls in the run-up to the vote. Their actual seats in the European Parliament remain unchanged, but they overtake the Sweden Democrats as third biggest party, suggesting that environmental issues are at the forefront of Swedes' minds.

Sweden Democrats

Results: 12.79 percent (-2.55)

Seats: 3 (no change)

Mini analysis: The far-right made gains in several other European countries, but not in Sweden where they were the big losers. It's the first time the Sweden Democrats have taken a tumble in an election on a European or national level since they first entered the Swedish parliament in 2010. If leader Jimmie Åkesson had hoped to take the stage at his election night party to own the story he was out of luck – the biggest headlines of the evening were grabbed by Sweden Democrat MP David Lång's loudly belting out racist chants at the election party.

Left Party

Results: 11.77 percent (+4.97)

Seats: 2 (previously: 1)

Mini analysis: The Left Party has every reason to celebrate, massively improving its performance compared to the last election and being one of the few parties that's set to actually increase its seats. Former party leader Jonas Sjöstedt was presumably a major draw as the party's top MEP candidate – he is one of the election's most well-known candidates, is well-liked even among less radical left voters, plus the party's decision to abandon Swexit as a key priority will likely have made them more palatable to left-leaning but pro-EU voters.

Centre Party

Results: 7.21 percent (-3.57)

Seats: 2 (no change)

Mini analysis: We arrive now at the three parties at the bottom, who are mainly happy they still get to play, despite not racking up great results. The Centre Party is set to keep its two seats despite the poorer result, which is probably enough for Muharrem Demirok to hang on as party leader. But according to public broadcaster SVT's survey, 58 percent of its voters only made up their mind in the week of the election, the biggest share of undecideds in any party.

Christian Democrats:

Results: 5.53 percent (-3.09)

Seats: 1 (previously: 2)

Mini analysis: The Christian Democrats are set to lose one MEP, but will at least not get kicked out of the European Parliament. Party leader Ebba Busch bravely spun this as a "sign of strength", noting that the party had faced an uphill battle after replacing its top candidate only a few months before the election and had improved on its performance of the 2022 national election.

Liberals

Results: 4.24 percent (+0.11)

Seats: 1 (no change)

Mini analysis: The Liberals not only scraped through but improved their result on the 2019 EU election. "Relief" is still probably the word that more than anything represented the mood at their election night party. "They had counted us out, but they were wrong – again," party leader Johan Pehrson told his party colleagues. The biggest excitement for the Liberals will be to see whether the well-known Anna Maria Corazza Bildt managed to gather enough personal votes for her to overtake the relatively unknown Karin Karlsbro as the party's top MEP name.

Other parties

Results: 2.18 percent (+0.77)