ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least five Kurdish candidates have secured seats in Sweden's parliament following Sunday's general election, Rudaw has learned, strengthening the Kurdish presence in the country's national legislature.
“Five Kurdish candidates have won and secured parliamentary seats,” Kadir Kasirga, a candidate and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, told Rudaw’s Shawqi Kabani, naming the winners as Lawen Redar, Talla Alkurdi, Sara Gille, Gurgin Bakircioglu, and Kasirga himself.
The final results of the ballot are expected to be announced Wednesday and Thursday, Kasirga added, marking a significant development for the Kurdish community in Sweden, which numbers around 170,000 people, according to data previously obtained by Rudaw’s Diaspora program.
Kurdish candidates competed on the lists of different parties, giving the community a presence across Sweden's political spectrum. Based on results available so far, Kasirga said the Social Democrats and the left-wing bloc are expected to form the next government.
Around 200,000 votes from Swedes living abroad have yet to be counted, he added, though he does not expect them to change the overall result.
“What has emerged regarding Kurdish candidates is that, on the Social Democratic list alone in Stockholm, three Kurdish candidates are certain to win,” said Bawar Asar, another senior Social Democratic member.
Meanwhile, Hana Amin Andersson, the party's candidate in Stockholm, said her parliamentary seat depends on whether the Social Democrats lead the next government. “If we, as Social Democrats, form the government, then I will become a member of parliament,” she said.
The election was closely contested between Sweden's left- and right-wing blocs, with both sides polling at around 46 percent before the vote. The narrow margin increased the potential importance of Kurdish and other immigrant voters in tightly fought races.
Kurds have entered parliamentary, regional, and municipal elections across Sweden, with more than 200 Kurdish candidates running across all three levels of government. Among them was Gulan Avci, a senior Liberal Party figure and former Swedish lawmaker who ran for mayor of Stockholm, and Sairan Askari, who ran in parliamentary, regional and municipal elections in Orebro.
Kurdish political participation in Sweden has previously held national significance. In 2021, Kurdish-Swedish lawmaker Amineh Kakabaveh cast a decisive vote that helped Magdalena Andersson become Sweden's first female prime minister.
