Sweden

From Left Space

The electoral system used to elect the 349 seat Swedish Riksdag (unicameral parliament) is party-list proportional representation, with alternative minimum thresholds of 4% of the national vote or 12% of the vote in an individual constituency. Seven parties won seats in September 17, 2006 general election:

Social Democratic Party, 130 seats (37.24% of the seats) with 35% of the popular vote

Moderate Party, 97 seats (27.8% of the seats) with 26.2% of the popular vote

Center Party, 29 seats (8.3% of the seats) with 7.9% of the popular vote

Liberal Party, 28 seats (8.2% of the seats) with 7.5% of the popular vote

Christian Democratic Party, 24 seats (6.87% of the seats) with 6.6% of the popular vote

Left Party, 22 seats (6.3% of the seats) with 5.8% of the popular vote

Green Party, 19 seats (5.4% of the seats) with 5.2% of the popular vote

The Sweden Democrats, with 2.9% of the popular vote, and the Pirate Party, with a total of 4,810 votes, failed to win any seats.

Under the electioral system the country is divided into 20 electoral districts or constituencies which elect anywhere from 42 seats (Stockholm) to 2 seats (Gotland). Any Swedish citizen 18 years old or older may run for a seat in the Riksdag.

In the September 17, 2006 general election the voter turnout was a healthy 82% of registered voters, up from 80.1% in the previous September 15, 2002 general election. Fully 47% of the Riksdag is female.