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POLITICS

Swedish town to hold re-election after postal mix-up

A municipality in central Sweden must hold a second election due to ballots being delivered late in the election of September last year.

Published: 7 February 2019 08:51 CET
Swedish town to hold re-election after postal mix-up
Ballot papers are sorted in a polling station. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT

In Falu municipality, votes cast by 145 people were not included in the count after the bag containing them was delivered late, as The Local reported at the time.

The votes in question were placed before the official polling day of September 9th: in Sweden, some polling stations open in the weeks leading up to election day, allowing voters to cast their ballots in advance.

But these papers arrived at the electoral office a day late and several hours after counting had begun, meaning that they could not be counted.

The result of the municipal election was appealed to the Swedish Election Review Board, which has now decided to call a re-election in Falu.

“I think it's frustrating because obviously it will have a much greater effect on the outcome than if it had just been decided to recount these votes,” Falun municipal councillor Joakim Storck of the Centre Party told SVT Dalarna. He said there would be more information about the board's decision on Thursday.

The new election must be held no more than three months from the decision, meaning it will be held in May at the latest.

Elections were held at the municipal, regional, and national level in September last year, with the general election producing a very close result that led to political deadlock for several months. In January, the centre-left Social Democrats struck a deal with two former opposition rivals that allowed them to continue in government with the Green Party.

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POLITICS

Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

Sweden has won the fight against inflation and expects GDP to grow next year, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson proudly proclaimed as she presented the government's budget bill for 2025.

Published: 19 September 2024 08:33 CEST
Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

“Going forward, the task will be to ensure that high inflation does not return, and at the same time to implement reforms and investments that build a more prosperous, safer and more secure Sweden for generations to come,” said Svantesson in a statement on Thursday morning.

The government predicts that Swedish GDP will grow 2.5 percent next year followed by 3.2 percent 2026.

Unemployment, however, is expected to remain unchanged at 8.3 percent in 2025, only beginning to drop in 2026 (7.9 percent, according to the government’s predictions, followed by 7.6 percent in 2027).

Svantesson told a press conference that a strong focus on economic growth would create jobs.

The 2025 budget, worked out in collaboration between the right-wing government coalition and far-right Sweden Democrats, is far more expansionary than the restrained budget Svantesson presented last year when Sweden was still fighting high inflation: 60 billion kronor towards new reforms rather than 39 billion kronor for 2024. Almost half, 27 billion kronor, will go towards funding lower taxes.

ANALYSIS:

Svantesson highlighted three areas in which new reforms are prioritised:

  • Strengthening household purchasing power after several years of the high cost of living putting a strain on household budgets, with reforms set to push the tax burden to its lowest level since 1980, according to the government.
  • Reinstating the “work first” principle, meaning that people should work rather than live on benefits. Some of the measures include language training for parents born abroad and increasing the number of places in vocational adult education.
  • Increasing growth, focusing on investments in research, infrastructure and electricity supply.

In the debate in parliament on Thursday, the centre-left opposition is expected to criticise the government for lowering taxes for high earners and not investing enough in welfare. 

Investments in healthcare, social care and education are significantly reduced in this budget compared to last year: down from 16 billion kronor to 7.5 billion kronor. 

Meanwhile, the hike of the employment tax credit (jobbskatteavdraget) – a tax reduction given to people who pay tax on their job income – is expected to lead to a 3,671 kronor tax cut for people on the median salary of 462,000 kronor per year.

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