2026 Swedish local elections

2026 Swedish local elections

13 September 2026

Party Social Democrats Moderate Sweden Democrats   Party Centre Liberals Left   Party Christian Democrats Green

The 2026 Swedish local elections will be held on 13 September 2026 to elect the 21 regional councils and 290 municipal councils. These elections occur concurrently with the general election.

Background

Local government in Sweden is divided into two levels of democratic representation: the regional level and the municipal level. Both levels are governed by the Local Government Act (Kommunallagen) adopted in 1991. Regions and municipalities do not hold legislative powers; nonetheless, they do have executive powers in taxation (including the right to levy income taxes), and administration at their respective levels.

The 2026 elections follow the 2022 elections, which saw a shift toward right-wing and center-right coalitions in several major regions, while the Social Democrats remained the dominant party in the northern parts of the country. Key issues for the 2026 cycle are expected to include healthcare accessibility, regional public transport, and the economic integration of rural municipalities.

Electoral system

Sweden uses a proportional representation system for all local elections. To vote in local elections, a person must be at least 18 years old. Unlike national elections, non-Swedish citizens can vote if they are EU citizens or if they have been registered residents in Sweden for at least three consecutive years. Seats are allocated using the Modified Sainte-Laguë method. A statutory threshold of 3% applies to regional council elections, while municipal elections have a threshold of either 2% or 3%, depending on the size of the electoral district.

Regional councils

Regional councils are responsible for healthcare, public transport, culture, and regional development. The political leadership of a region is headed by the Chair of the Regional Board (Regionstyrelsens ordförande), who is elected by each regional council via majority. The regional councils have a combined total of 1,696 seats.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/-

Regions of Sweden

ISO	County	Regional Council	Incumbent Chair of the Regional Board			Elected Chair
			Name	Party		Name	Paty
AB	Stockholm	Region Stockholm	Aida Hadžialić		S
C	Uppsala	Region Uppsala	Helena Proos		S
D	Södermanland	Region Sörmland	Christoffer Öqvist		M
E	Östergötland	Region Östergötland	Marie Morell		M
F	Jönköping	Region Jönköping County	Rachel De Basso		S
G	Kronoberg	Region Kronoberg	Mikael Johansson		M
H	Kalmar	Region Kalmar County	Angelica Katsanidou		S
I	Gotland	Region Gotland	Meit Fohlin		S
K	Blekinge	Region Blekinge	Robert Lindén		SD
M	Skåne	Region Skåne	Carl Johan Sonesson		M
N	Halland	Region Halland	Mikaela Waltersson		M
O	Västra Götaland	Region Västra Götaland	Helén Eliasson		S
S	Värmland	Region Värmland	Åsa Johansson		S
T	Örebro	Region Örebro County	Andreas Svahn		S
U	Västmanland	Region Västmanland	Mikael Andersson Elfgren		M
W	Dalarna	Region Dalarna	Elin Norén		S
X	Gävleborg	Region Gävleborg	Patrik Stenvard		M
Y	Västernorrland	Region Västernorrland	Glenn Nordlund		S
Z	Jämtland	Region Jämtland Härjedalen	Bengt Bergqvist		S
AC	Västerbotten	Region Västerbotten	Peter Olofsson		S
BD	Norrbotten	Region Norrbotten	Anders Öberg		S

Municipal councils

The 290 municipal councils represent the most local level of government, responsible for local roads, schools, social services, urban planning, waste management and environmental protection. These elections will determine the distribution of approximately 12,700 seats nationwide. Following the elections, the new municipal councils will appoint the Municipal Executive Boards (Kommunstyrelsen).

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/-

Referenda

4 Municipalities will hold referenda simultaneously with the municipal elections.

Ljungby Municipality

Should the local authority, via a transmission pipeline between Ljungby and Bollstad, extend the municipal water and sewerage networks along the eastern shore of Lake Bolmen and facilitate the construction of a new footpath and cycle path along this stretch?

Choice		Votes	%
For
Against
Abstain			{{{o3pct}}}
Total

Leksand Municipality

Should the local authority work towards being able to offer support for private roads in accordance with current legislation, regulations and agreements?

Choice		Votes	%
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3			{{{o3pct}}}
Abstain			{{{o4pct}}}
Total

Option 1 reads:

Yes, but this commitment must not result in cuts to local welfare services and/or tax increases.

Option 2 reads:

Yes, even if this commitment involves cuts to local authority welfare services and/or tax increases.

Option 3 reads:

No, I believe that the road’s owner should bear the costs.

Mark Municipality

Could the middle school years (Years 4–6) at the schools in Björketorp, Fotskäl, Öxabäck and Torestorp be relocated?

Choice		Votes	%
For
Against
Abstain			{{{o3pct}}}
Total

Tierp Municipality

How should Tierp Municipality’s business premises are to be owned?

Choice		Votes	%
Option 1
Option 2
Abstain			{{{o3pct}}}
Total

Option 1 reads:

You want the municipality’s business premises to be owned by the municipal company Tierps kommunfastigheter AB (TKAB). Business premises currently owned directly by the municipality are to be purchased by the municipal company (TKAB).

Option 2 reads:

You want the municipal business premises to be owned directly by the municipality. Business premises previously purchased by the municipal company Tierps kommunfastigheter AB (TKAB) are to be repurchased by the municipality.