Parliament Locks Constitution - SD Alone Votes No
Sweden's parliament voted 284-61 to require a two-thirds majority for future constitutional changes from April 2027. Only the Sweden Democrats said no, warning the lock freezes reforms on citizenship and criminal gangs.
STOCKHOLM - Seven of eight parties in Sweden's parliament have locked in new rules that make it far harder to change the constitution. From 1 April 2027, a two-thirds majority will be required. Only the Sweden Democrats voted against the package.
The final vote was 284 to 61. All 61 no votes came from Sweden Democrat MPs. One SD member and three Christian Democrats were absent.
Backers say the change protects democracy from temporary majorities. Critics say it also freezes the constitution and can block reforms that a clear majority of MPs still wants.
117 MPs can stop any change
Until now, Sweden could amend a constitutional law with two identical parliamentary decisions and a general election in between. The second vote normally needed only a simple majority of those voting.
Under the new rules the first decision needs support from at least half of all 349 MPs - 175 yes votes. The second needs at least two thirds, or 233 yes votes.
That means 117 MPs can kill a constitutional amendment even if everyone else supports it. Both votes become mandatory. The first decision must, as a rule, come no later than four months before the election.
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Löfven started it - Kristersson finished it
The project began in 2020 under Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who appointed a cross-party inquiry. The inquiry reported in 2023. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's government then carried the bill, presenting it in April 2025.
Parliament took the first decision on 1 October 2025. After the autumn election the proposal returned for the final vote on Wednesday.
SD: the constitution is frozen
In the debate, Sweden Democrat Oscar Sjöstedt attacked the package. Sweden already has a solid safeguard, he argued: two decisions with an election between them.
He stressed that the constitution covers far more than the basic rules of democracy. Future reforms on bans on criminal associations, broader revocation of citizenship granted on false grounds, and compensation when the state restricts private property could all become much harder - even with a parliamentary majority.
"In practice, parliament is now freezing the constitution as it stands in 2026," Sjöstedt said.
In a reservation in the Committee on the Constitution, SD members wrote that a stronger lock may be justified for some core parts of the system of government, but not as a blanket rule for every constitutional change.
"A general requirement of a qualified majority for all constitutional amendments can become an obstacle to stable, long-term and necessary constitutional development," they wrote.
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Court independence - yes; the whole package - no
The reform also strengthens the courts. The agency that administers the courts will get a board where most members are or have been ordinary judges. Protections for the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court are tightened, including clearer rules on the number of justices and how new judges are appointed.
Government agencies will no longer supervise the courts' judicial work. The Council on Legislation gets a wider role when constitutional bills touch basic rights and freedoms.
The Sweden Democrats support those court measures. But the final vote was all-or-nothing, so the party voted no on the whole package. Sjöstedt said SD wanted the court reforms and the amendment lock handled separately.
The other parties call it protection
Moderate MP Mats Sander defended the change. Broad deals on constitutional questions have long been a Swedish tradition, he said - and that tradition now gets clearer legal force.
"The constitutions are the rules of the democratic game," Sander said. A political majority should still be able to change policy, he argued, but not rewrite democracy's basic rules on its own.
Social Democrats and the other yes parties stressed long-term protection for democratic institutions and independent courts.
With Wednesday's vote the amendments are finally adopted. They take effect on 1 April 2027.
Simon Kristoffersson · Responsible Publisher & Senior Editor (Ansvarig utgivare)
Simon Kristoffersson is the Legally Responsible Publisher (Ansvarig utgivare) and Senior Investigative Editor of Samnytt and Samnytt News under Sweden's Constitutional Freedom of the Press Act, specializing in courts, organized crime, municipal governance, and public-sector investigations.
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