The police registered 58 suspected election crimes during the election year. More than 40 percent of the cases are still under investigation – and Borlänge stands out with eight open preliminary investigations.
In total, the Police Authority registered 58 cases during the election year, categorized as either undue influence during voting or taking an undue advantage during voting. Of these, 34 cases have been closed while 24 are still subject to preliminary investigation, according to a summary from the Police Authority. This was reported by Kvartal.
The cases are spread across several parts of Sweden, but one area clearly stands out – Borlänge, where three people connected to the Left Party are being investigated, two of whom are of Somali origin and have run for parliament and the municipal council, respectively.
Eight open investigations in Borlänge
Of the country’s 24 ongoing preliminary investigations, eight are registered in Borlänge. In addition, there is another case in the municipality that has already been closed.
Seven of the total nine registered Borlänge cases were reported to the Police as late as September 22. The alleged crime dates range from August 18 to September 22.
One of the eight still open cases is handled by the National Operations Department (Noa), while the others are with the Bergslagen police region. It is not currently clear whether the eight investigations concern eight completely separate incidents or if several of them are connected to the same chain of events.
In Sigtuna, two preliminary investigations are also underway after the municipality reported suspected incidents related to the election. Both are being investigated by Noa. The national department is also handling one investigation each in Nacka and Osby.
How the crimes are defined
Both crime classifications are found in Chapter 17, Section 8 of the Swedish Penal Code.
Undue influence during voting means someone attempts to impede a vote, distort the result, or otherwise unduly affect the voting process. The basic penalty can be a fine or imprisonment for up to six months. If the crime is considered serious, the maximum sentence is four years in prison. In assessment, particular consideration should be given to whether the act included violence, threats of violence, or abuse of power.
Taking an undue advantage during voting, instead targets the voter. The crime can be committed by someone who receives, accepts a promise of, or personally requests an undue advantage in exchange for voting in a certain way – or abstaining from voting. Here too, the penalty is a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment, provided the act does not instead constitute bribery.
Since 2025, these crimes have a specific police crime code. This means that this year’s statistics are not directly comparable with, for example, the elections in 2018 and 2022 through the same register search.
Borlänge investigation reopened
Borlänge has previously been at the center of a separate and widely reported investigation concerning suspected undue influence during voting. That investigation was initiated following an anonymous tip.
The police then began surveillance of identified individuals. According to media reports, voters were allegedly transported to polling stations and ballots were pre-marked. The police will also be examining financial transactions.
The preliminary investigation was initiated on September 1 but was closed a week later due to evidence issues. On September 21, it was reopened after new circumstances emerged. The prosecutor has not revealed what the new information consists of.
Documents from the Swedish Prosecution Authority show that two individuals appeared as suspects in the original investigation. When the preliminary investigation was reopened, a third was added. None of the three have yet been formally notified of suspicion of crime, and their identities are classified.
The investigation is led by the National Anti-Corruption Unit and handled by Noa’s anti-corruption team.
Left Party politicians take a time out
The newly elected Left Party MP Mohamed Abdukardir Ali and municipal politician Ahmed Abas Omar have been mentioned in reports on the case. Both have announced they are taking a break from their political assignments but deny all allegations of wrongdoing.
Ali was ninth on the Left Party’s parliamentary list in Dalarna but received 648 personal votes, thus leapfrogging the top-listed candidate Kajsa Fredholm to enter parliament. Ali has denied any involvement in election fraud.
It is still unclear how the eight currently open preliminary investigations in Borlänge relate to this investigation. The timing is also notable – seven of the municipality’s nine registered cases were filed with the police on September 22, after news of the much-publicized election fraud probe became public.
Suspected election fraud may affect the election result
A criminal investigation and a review of the election result itself are two different legal processes. The question of whether an election should be corrected or held again is determined by the Election Review Board.
According to the electoral law, the board can order a new election if someone has obstructed voting, altered submitted votes, or otherwise unduly influenced the election. However, it is not enough that an error or undue influence is confirmed. It must also be reasonably assumed that the event affected the election outcome.
There are historical cases where undue influence during voting has led to a new election. For example, in a municipal council election in Hallsberg, suspected irregularities were found to have affected the result when the last seat was decided by only two votes.
What the ongoing 24 preliminary investigations will lead to is still unclear. The initiation of a preliminary investigation does not mean that a crime has been established, and several of the cases are so recent that the investigative work is only at an initial stage.
Alarms also from Järva
Comprehensive reports of suspected irregularities have also emerged from the disadvantaged areas of the Järva field in Stockholm. Experienced election officials in Rinkeby, Tensta and Husby have, in eyewitness accounts, described organized group voting, voters being instructed on how to vote, pre-marked ballots brought into polling stations, and voters receiving instructions via mobile phone behind the voting booth. This is reported by SvD.
Examples include around a hundred Eritrean women who, according to witnesses, arrived together with two priests and were instructed to vote for the same party and candidate, a man who repeatedly handed out pre-marked ballots outside a polling station, and voters who asked staff to secretly dispose of already sealed ballot envelopes.
Election officials have also described people trying to accompany others behind voting booths and how pre-marked ballots repeatedly appeared among the official ones. Several of the testimonies and incident reports have involved the Left Party and the Somali candidate Ilyas Hassan’s personal campaign. After the election, Hassan was elected to parliament for Stockholm municipality.
Vote buying investigated in Norrbotten
Suspected election crimes are also being investigated on the other side of the political spectrum. The police have launched preliminary investigations after information about offers of money for votes in Luleå and Piteå. These cases are classified as undue influence during voting. This has been reported, among others, by NSD.
In Piteå, an ad was published in a local buy-and-sell group on Facebook in which the sender offered 300 kronor for a vote that would be “not red.” No specific party was named.
Politician in Landskrona suspected
A municipal politician in Landskrona is also being investigated for suspected undue influence during voting. According to the police report, the politician distributed several municipal ballots with their own name already pre-marked. The distribution is said to have occurred at a location other than the polling station. This is reported by Landskrona Direkt.
The case is with the police’s serious crimes division in Helsingborg, which will now investigate whether the circumstances surrounding the distribution constituted a crime. How many ballots are involved is unknown, and neither the politician’s name nor party affiliation has been made public.