Sweden’s right wing poised for election victory on far-right gains

Sweden's right wing looked set to oust Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's left-wing bloc in Sunday's general election on strong gains by the far-right, clinging to a slim lead with 94 percent of electoral districts counted.

The right wing bloc was credited with a majority of 176 of 349 seats in parliament, with the left bloc trailing with 173.

With the vote deemed too close to call, election authorities said they did not expect a final result until Wednesday when the last ballots from abroad and from advance voting had been counted.

"We're not going to have a final result tonight", Andersson, 55, told her cheering supporters as the outcome hung in the air, calling on Swedes to "have patience" and "let democracy run its course".

Andersson's challenger Ulf Kristersson of the conservative Moderates and the leader of the right-wing bloc, said that while the election results could still change, "I am ready to build a new and strong government".

The Moderates and two other smaller right-wing parties have for the first time tied up with the anti-immigration and nationalist Sweden Democrats, which looked set to post their best election score yet.

The far-right party, which entered parliament in 2010 with 5.7 percent of votes and have long been treated as "pariahs" by other political parties, was seen garnering around 20.7 percent of votes.

That makes them the country's second-biggest party for the first time, overtaking the Moderates, the traditional leaders on the right.

The election campaign was dominated by issues close to right-wing voters and especially the far-right, including rising gang shootings, immigration and integration issues.

While Andersson's Social Democrats looked set to remain the country...