Sweden is heading for a hung parliament after its latest election, which saw a surge in support for right-wing party Sweden Democrats.
With nearly all districts having reported, the ruling centre-left Social Democrats and Greens and their Left Party allies had 40.6 percent of the vote, while the opposition, Alliance, was at 40.3 percent.
The Sweden Democrats, a withroots in the white supremacist fringe, won 17.6 percent and 63 seats.
This is up from up from 12.9 percent and 49 seats in the 2014 election, the biggest gain by any party in Sweden’s parliament, reports Reuters.
It’s expected to take weeks for a workable government to be formed, as the centre-left no longer have the seats required for a majority in the Riksdag.
Reuters reports that following the result, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson told party colleagues: “We will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years.”
Current prime minister Stefan Lofven, who brought the Social Democrats to power in 2014, has said he has no plans to leave his job.
He told his supporters the election presented “a situation that all responsible parties must deal with”, adding that “a party with roots in Nazism” would “never ever offer anything responsible, but hatred”.
“We have a moral responsibility. We must gather all good forces. We won’t mourn, we will organise ourselves,” he said.
Sweden Democrats want the country leave the European Union and proposed a freeze on immigration.