Swedes Lose Trust in Elections After Vote Fraud Scandal

STOCKHOLM - Swedes' faith that their elections are run properly has dropped sharply. Only 69 percent now trust that elections are carried out correctly, down from 77 percent a year ago.

The figures come from a new October survey by pollster Indikator Opinion for Swedish Radio. Nearly one in three Swedes no longer says they have strong confidence that the vote is counted right.

Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg and one of Sweden's best-known election researchers, points to the suspected election fraud in Borlänge as the main reason.

"What happened in Borlänge is probably what is causing the biggest drop," he told Swedish Radio.

The divide between party voters is stark. Among Left Party and Centre Party voters, 91 percent have high confidence in the elections. Among Greens it is 89 percent.

Among Sweden Democrat voters the picture is the opposite. Only 32 percent trust the elections, while 48 percent have low confidence - and one in four says they have very little confidence at all.

READ MORE: Three Suspects in the Election Fraud Case in Borlänge

Raids and suspects in Borlänge

Trust is also below average among Moderate voters, where 62 percent have high confidence and 22 percent low. Christian Democrat voters land at 65 percent, Social Democrats at 81 and Liberals at 82.

The Borlänge case concerns suspected fraud during early voting ahead of the general election in September. A preliminary investigation was opened - and then dropped just days before the vote.

After the election the case was revived. In October police raided three addresses in Borlänge, and three people are now suspected of offences including improper influence on voting and accepting improper benefits for a vote.

The election has also been appealed on a scale never seen before. Around 24,000 appeals have reached the Election Review Board, whose chairman says the review may not be finished until spring.

READ MORE: Social Democrat Worker Followed Voters Behind Screens - Reported to Police

IT failure hit early votes

During early voting, the Swedish Election Authority was also hit by a fault in its IT system. Around 4,000 voters may have been ticked off twice or had their vote registered to another voter.

The fault was stopped together with the IT supplier, the Swedish Tax Agency. But the incidents have raised hard questions about how well the Swedish election system is actually protected.

Still no government

While trust in the vote falls, parliament has still not given Sweden a new government. Fifty-one days after the election, Ulf Kristersson remains caretaker prime minister.

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was voted down as prime minister on 15 October, 248 to 99. Today parliament votes on the Speaker's proposal to make Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist prime minister - with both the Christian Democrats and Liberals expected to vote no.

The Speaker can put forward at most four candidates. If all are rejected, Sweden faces a snap election - something it has not had since 1958.

READ MORE: Speaker Puts Centre Party Leader Up for PM - Expected to Fail