The preliminary investigation into suspected improper influence during voting in Borlänge has been reopened following new information. At the center of the attention is the Left Party’s Mohamed Abdukardir Ali, who, with 648 personal votes, bypassed the party’s top candidate and entered parliament. Samnytt can now reveal that Ali participated in the Left Party’s door-to-door campaign in Tjärna Ängar together with party colleague Klas Holmgren. At the same time, Somali-born commentator Mona Walter shares her own experiences from Gothenburg, where she says she was offered compensation to vote for a pre-marked candidate.

Mohamed Abdukardir Ali was ninth on the Left Party’s parliamentary list in Dalarna. Despite this low position, he collected 648 personal votes, surpassing the list leader, Kajsa Fredholm.

Ali himself has said he was surprised by the result. The attention surrounding his election has grown since a police investigation into suspected improper influence during voting became known.

The preliminary investigation was initially closed by prosecutor Oskar Edvardsson but has now been reopened.

Ali’s path to parliament has been swift, as Samnytt previously reported. As recently as 2024, he was denied Swedish citizenship after the Migration Agency found debts exceeding SEK 163,000 to the Swedish Enforcement Authority, including unpaid taxes, student loans, and private loans.

He had already been granted debt restructuring at that time due to lack of ability to pay. In February 2026, following a new review, Ali received Swedish citizenship—and just around seven months later, the political newcomer had voted his way past the Left Party’s top candidate and all the way into the Swedish parliament.

ALSO READ: Unknown Unemployed Mohamed Ousts Left Party’s Top MP – Denied Citizenship After Major Debts

Prosecutor: New Information Has Emerged

When Samnytt speaks with prosecutor Oskar Edvardsson, he confirms that the decision is based on new material.

What has changed since you closed the preliminary investigation?

– What’s changed is that new information has come in that makes us look at it one more time.

Samnytt has previously reported information from a police source that the police wanted to carry out further investigative measures during the first investigation but received no support for this.

However, Edvardsson does not want to confirm that view, and says that the issue is hypothetical. He also points out that he’s not sure Samnytt’s source is correct in their description of what happened.

Time is always a factor when investigating something. We can say this: no one has been formally notified of suspicion. That I can say today.

Oskar Edvardsson, prosecutor

According to Samnytt’s police source, there is material showing Ali distributing what police suspected were money and ballots to Somali women who then walked to an early voting location.

ALSO READ: Police Source to Samnytt: Left Party Politician Surveilled at ATM – Distributed Money and Ballots to Somalis

Edvardsson does not want to comment on the specific details.

– We have an ongoing investigation, that’s how it is. I might have a different view than the source, but it’s hard for me to comment, because if I comment on anything, I’d have to go into details and aspects that aren’t public.

He notes that the aspect of time can be important in criminal investigations.

– Time is always a factor when investigating something.

There is at least not yet any formally suspected individual in the investigation.

– We can say this: no one has been formally notified of suspicion. That I can say today.

Do you plan to bring Ali in for questioning?

– That’s not something I can share with the media. We’ll see if it becomes relevant.

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But you’re the one pursuing this, no other prosecutor might take over?

– It’s me, for now.

In an investigation led by a prosecutor from the national anti-corruption unit, there are photos of Ali together with another election candidate who later withdraws money from an ATM, reports Expressen as well.

Information About Money and Pre-marked Ballots

Aftonbladet has also published information about police surveillance material. According to the newspaper, there are photos of a person withdrawing cash at an ATM and later handing out money and ballots to voters. The investigation also contains reports of ballots where Ali’s name was pre-marked.

Samnytt’s police source has gone further and identified Ali as a person by the ATM. According to the source, he was observed subsequently distributing what the police suspected were cash and ballots to Somali women.

This has not been confirmed by the prosecutor. Edvardsson says, on the contrary, that he “may have a different view than the source,” but does not want to elaborate on how, since the preliminary investigation is ongoing.

ALSO READ: Read the Decision on Left Party Somali’s Denied Citizenship

Ali has denied any wrongdoing.

Expressen also now reports on the suspicions concerning Ali. The newspaper says police surveilled him and a party colleague during early voting and that there are pictures showing Ali withdrawing money from an ATM.

The information is therefore in line with previous reports by Samnytt and Aftonbladet about the police investigation into suspected payments in connection with the voting.

Left Party Politician: Door-to-Door Campaigning with Ali

When Samnytt contacts Left Party city council member Klas Holmgren in Borlänge, he gives a clearer picture of Ali’s role in the party’s local election campaign.

What role did Mohamed Ali have in the Left Party’s election campaign in Borlänge, in practice and formally?

– The only thing I can say is that, just like many others, he simply participated in the election campaign. And then we haven’t in any way graded the levels of involvement. But he took part in the campaign along with other members here.

Holmgren then recounts that he himself did campaign work together with Ali.

– I myself, for example, have been out door-knocking together with him in Tjärna Ängar.

We have no other local oversight than what has emerged in the media. You can see in various comment sections, for example, that there is a sewer of racism in which some people wallow.

Klas Holmgren, Left Party city council member in Borlänge

According to Holmgren, there was nothing remarkable about Ali’s conduct during their joint campaign activities.

– There has been nothing noteworthy about his participation in the campaign, as far as I can see, compared to anyone else.

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This information is interesting in light of where Ali’s personal votes came from. An analysis by Johan Westerholm for Ledarsidorna shows that 333 of Ali’s 648 personal votes came from Borlänge.

Of these, 283 were from eight voting districts in western Borlänge, including Tjärna Ängar, Tjärna Allé, Jakobsgårdarna, Bullermyren, and Hagalund.

The geographic distribution of personal votes shows where Ali had his strongest support. However, it does not in itself show how the votes were mobilized or that anything improper occurred.

Left Party Not Conducting Its Own Local Investigation

Despite the criminal investigation, the Left Party in Borlänge, according to Holmgren, has not seen reason to conduct its own local review.

Have you tried to investigate what happened yourselves?

– We have not had cause to do so. There is a police investigation ongoing, as you know, and it is the police’s responsibility to investigate.

ALSO READ: Here is the Left Party’s Arabic Advertisement—Warning About Racism and Discrimination

Holmgren says that the local party organization has no other information than what has emerged publicly.

– We have no other local oversight than what has come out in the media.

He simultaneously reacts to some of the discussion around Ali, pointing to comments he considers racist.

– You can see in various comment sections, for example, that there is a sewer of racism in which some people wallow.

Holmgren then says that racism forms “part of these accusations” and emphasizes that the allegations are still unconfirmed.

The Meeting in Mogadishu

At the same time, new information has emerged about Ali’s activities and contacts in Somalia. Ledarsidorna’s Johan Westerholm has examined a meeting held at Tropical Falco Inn Hotel in Mogadishu on June 29—barely three months before the election.

A Somali-language post from the meeting describes, according to Ledarsidorna, how participants discussed the development of the Somali community in Sweden, participation in the Swedish election, and the diaspora’s role in Somalia’s reconstruction.

ALSO READ: After the Islamist Chaos: 7 out of 8 Are Arabs on the Left Party’s New Municipal List

The post thanks “Mohamed Taranbi” for organizing the meeting. Ledarsidorna has linked that name to the same Facebook account that later carried Mohamed Ali’s name and was used to urge people to vote for him.

The material, however, does not show that the meeting was organized by the Somali government or that any foreign actor controlled Ali’s personal campaign.

According to Ledarsidorna and Westerholm, Ali’s posts have now been deleted after media attention.

Plans for Million-Value Deal in Somalia

Aftonbladet has also reviewed Ali’s business ventures and his connections in Somalia. Ali is involved in AfriTech GrowTh AB and, according to the paper, has made several trips to Somalia. The company’s plans revolve around a digital ID system they hope to sell in the country.

Business partner Agneta Nyvall told Aftonbladet that the system could be used in future digital elections and that a potential deal could be worth around SEK 15 million.

I have myself been asked to vote for an already pre-marked candidate in exchange for compensation. I have also seen how votes are mobilized through clan and other networks, dinners, and religious environments.

Mona Walter, commentator from Somalia who has left Islam

The project is, however, at an early stage and, according to Nyvall, has not yet generated any revenue. Nyvall also says she was surprised by Ali’s personal election success. She does not believe he did anything improper in connection with the election.

Mona Walter: Offered Compensation for Pre-marked Candidate

Samnytt has also been in contact with Somali-born commentator Mona Walter, whom the paper has previously interviewed about Somali culture, clan structures and informal networks.

This time Walter declined an interview as she needs to keep a low public profile for safety reasons. However, she provided a written statement about her own experiences from Somali environments in Gothenburg.

– I myself have been asked to vote for an already pre-marked candidate in exchange for compensation. I have also seen how votes are mobilized through clan and other networks, dinners, and religious environments.

Walter says her experience is that such methods could be “relatively normalized and accepted” in the environments she was in. She also explicitly stresses that her experience cannot be attributed to all Somalis and that she doesn’t know what happened in Borlänge.

– I naturally do not mean that all Somalis do this or accept it. Nor do I know what has happened in Borlänge and do not wish to accuse anyone without proof. But I definitely think police and journalists should investigate how votes have been organized and recruited.

ALSO READ: Mona Walter on the Minnesota Fraud Scandal, Somali Culture and Why Sweden Is Especially Vulnerable

Walter already shared in a previous interview with Samnytt her views on clan structures and informal networks within parts of the Somali diaspora. That interview was conducted in relation to the large-scale fraud case in Minnesota, where questions about Somali networks received much attention.

Attempts to Buy Out from Parliament

Meanwhile, new information is emerging that the Left Party is trying to handle the situation internally. According to Borlänge Tidning, Ali was called to the party in Stockholm and advised not to talk to the media, as the party believes it does not benefit his position.

But, according to the paper, it goes further. Ali is also said to have been encouraged to give up his newly acquired parliamentary seat, which would mean that the Left Party’s top name in Dalarna, Kajsa Fredholm, would instead take a seat in parliament.

In exchange, Ali is reportedly being offered a job at the Left Party’s headquarters in Stockholm—with a monthly salary of SEK 81,400, the same amount as a parliamentary member’s base salary in 2026. The offer, according to the paper, is conditional upon him giving up the parliamentary seat.

ALSO READ: INTERVIEW: Mona Walter’s Warning to Sweden

When Borlänge Tidning confronted the Left Party’s press office with the information, Antonio de la Cruz replied that he was not aware of the matter but would check. Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar’s press secretary, Silan Erman, also asked to return with comments.

Thus the story has taken another turn. From ninth place on the Left Party’s list, the relatively unknown candidate voted himself past the party’s top name and into parliament with 648 personal votes. Now the investigation into what happened during the voting has been reopened—while, according to new information, Ali is being offered a parliamentary salary from the party to not take the seat in parliament.

Shortly afterwards, the Left Party announced that it had agreed with Ali that he will take a time-out from parliament. Party secretary Maria Forsberg describes the allegations as “extremely serious”.