Swedes head to voting polls to take part in general elections
Swedes are heading to the polls in general elections that will determine whether the left or right leads the country's next government over the next four years.
The close race on Sunday is between Sweden's opposition center-left Social Democrats led by Magdalena Andersson and Ulf Kristersson of the ruling right-wing bloc.
Opinion polls showed this week that the left has a narrow lead over the right-wing bloc.
Until a few weeks ago, Andersson had a 10-point lead over the current prime minister.
However, Kristersson, who hails from the liberal-conservative Moderate Party and has pledged to bring Jimmie Åkesson’s far-right Sweden Democrats into the government if his bloc wins, has been catching up with Andersson in the final weeks of campaigning.
Akesson, a controversial figure linked to organized crime, has drawn criticism from both the opposition and the ruling center-right coalition for inviting Comanches motorcycle gang leader Robert Hedarv to his wedding earlier this month.
Several members of the Comanches biker gang have been convicted of drug and weapons offenses, and Hedarv himself is a convicted criminal.
However, supporters of the right-wing bloc claim the group's anti-Muslim agenda effectively curbed immigration dramatically. They say that its victory would amount to a public endorsement of that approach and more in the same vein in the years ahead.
"We can unify parties, voters and issues into joint action. That's why we get things done," Kristersson told reporters in Parliament this week.
Their critics say the right-wing agenda is undermining civil liberties in Sweden, forcing immigrants to either adhere more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country.
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