What happened
SVT Verifierar has investigated the claim that 200,000 people who became Swedish citizens over the past four years decided the parliamentary election in favor of the red-greens. Ahead of the election, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson claimed that Muslim immigration could tip the balance, which then Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson called a conspiracy theory. According to economist Henrik Andersson at Uppsala University, the claim is an unconfirmed hypothesis, as there are neither verified statistics on the group's actual party choices nor on their voter turnout. Furthermore, on 6 June 2026, stricter requirements came into force for obtaining Swedish citizenship, including regarding self-sufficiency and language skills.
Our analysis
When election results are questioned by singling out new Swedes, civic rights are turned into a suspected threat. In a democracy, the right to vote is universal and personal, but in the debate, the electoral participation of new citizens is described more as a problem than as a natural part of democratic governance. Reducing 200,000 individual people with diverse backgrounds to manageable voting cattle is convenient for whoever loses power. When old Swedes vote, it is called the voters' verdict, but when new Swedes do so, it is immediately described as a political strategy.
Explained
Swedish citizenship grants a person full political rights, including the right to vote and run for office in elections to the Swedish Riksdag.
Source: SVT Nyheter inrikes