Media information about following the vote count during the 2026 Swedish Elections
Published: 3 September 2026
Elections to the Riksdag and municipal and regional councils will take place on 13 September 2026. On election day, polling stations will be open between 08.00 and 20.00. When the polling stations have closed, the staff working there will start the preliminary vote count. The final vote count by the county administrative boards will begin the day after election day. You can follow the results of both the preliminary and final counts on the Swedish Election Authority’s website: val.se.
Follow the vote count on val.se
- Preliminary results will be presented on election night: 13 September
The preliminary vote count begins at the polling stations at the close of voting: at 20.00 on election day, 13 September. You can follow the results of the preliminary vote count on the Swedish Election Authority’s website, val.se. The Swedish Election Authority determines the provisional allocation of seats between parties on election night.
Follow the preliminary vote count on election night here (in Swedish)
- The preliminary vote count continues on 16 September
On 16 September – the Wednesday following election day – the election committees will count the ballots that did not reach the polling stations on election day. While the main focus during the Wednesday count is on counting the advance voting ballots cast in other municipalities during the election weekend, the late ballots received from abroad are also counted. The Wednesday count can be extended to Thursday if necessary. Votes are counted for the various assembly districts, instead of the electoral districts, to maintain voter secrecy. The preliminary results from election night are updated continuously during the vote count.
Follow the election committee’s preliminary vote count here (in Swedish)
- The final vote count begins on 14 September
On 14 September – the Monday following election day – the county administrative boards start the final vote count. The county administrative boards then count and declare the votes for all participating parties and specific candidates. The county administrative boards also assess whether or not each ballot is valid. The final results of the Riksdag elections are expected to be determined approximately one week after election day. All regional and municipal council election results are expected to be determined approximately two weeks after election day.
Follow the results of the final vote count here (in Swedish)
Timeline: results reporting on election night
Preliminary vote counting starts at the polling stations at the close of voting on election day: at 20.00 on 13 September. The Riksdag election votes are counted first at the polling stations, followed by the municipal council election votes, and then the regional council election votes. It is not possible to predict what time the electoral districts will report their preliminary results on election night. We usually publish an initial provisional allocation of seats between parties in the Riksdag at around 22:30 – or whenever enough electoral districts have reported their results. (We continue to update the seat allocation figures while the preliminary vote count is ongoing).
The preliminary results do not include votes for specific candidates
The preliminary election results include only the votes for the parties expected to win seats. Votes for specific candidates are neither counted nor reported during the preliminary vote count. The results of the preliminary vote count provide an initial indication of the election results.
The election results can be updated until they have been finalised
During the final vote count by the county administrative boards, the votes for all parties that have notified their participation in the elections – as well as votes for specific candidates – will be counted and reported. The county administrative boards also assess whether or not each ballot is valid. During the final count, all votes (i.e., ballot papers) are checked and counted several times. Corrections may be made at this stage, and voter registration errors may also be detected.
The final result of the Riksdag election is presented when all the county administrative boards have completed their final vote counts, and the Swedish Election Authority has reached a decision on the allocation of seats in the Riksdag and the appointment of Riksdag members and substitutes, and determined the election results. Until then, the distribution of votes is updated on a continuous basis. The final result of the Riksdag election is expected to be determined approximately one week after election day.
When the county administrative boards have completed the Riksdag election vote count, they complete the vote counts for the municipal and regional council elections. The results of all municipal and regional council elections are expected to be established approximately two weeks after election day.