He has never held any political office, joined the Left Party just over a year ago, and is so unknown that the party’s group leader in Borlänge says he doesn’t know who he is. Nevertheless, Mohamed Abdukardir Ali, 30, has received enough personal votes to surpass the Left Party’s climate policy spokesperson Kajsa Fredholm and looks set to take her seat in parliament. It has also emerged that Ali is unemployed and as recently as 2024 was denied Swedish citizenship due to his debts.

The personal vote outcome in Dalarna has put the Left Party in a situation few within the party seem to have anticipated. Mohamed Abdukardir Ali from Somalia was listed ninth on the Left Party’s parliamentary list and lacks previous political experience. Despite this, he gathered 648 personal votes—compared to 356 for the top-listed and party profile Kajsa Fredholm.

This means Ali crossed the five percent threshold for personal votes and surpassed Fredholm, who has been in parliament since 2022 and acts as the party’s spokesperson on climate policy.

“I honestly don’t really know who he is”

Even within his own party, knowledge about the soon-to-be member of parliament seems limited. The Left Party’s group leader in Borlänge, Matts Hammarqvist, told Expressen that Ali has only been a member for just over a year and has not been particularly politically active locally.

– I honestly don’t really know who he is.

According to the newspaper, Hammarqvist does not even have contact details for his party colleague. Ali himself states that he has never previously held any political office and says he is surprised by the election result.

– I am myself surprised by the personal support as I have not had my own campaign or election material, he claims.

At the same time, social media posts show that Ali, together with friends, has traveled and campaigned for the Left Party in Dalarna. A business partner also describes his network within the Somali diaspora in Borlänge as extensive.

READ MORE: Somali unknown ousts Left Party top from Parliament

As Samnytt has previously reported, it is the support from that group that has enabled Ali to go from ninth to first place on the Left Party’s list through personal votes.

Denied Swedish citizenship

New information is now emerging about the politically unknown parliamentarian’s background.

Ali came to Sweden from Somalia and as recently as two years ago was denied Swedish citizenship. The reason was his financial situation.

When the case was reviewed, he had debts of 163,045 kronor at the Enforcement Authority, including unpaid taxes, student loans, and private loans. In September 2022, he was granted debt restructuring.

But the Migration Agency considered that he had not had acceptable reasons for previously failing to pay the debts and that he therefore could not be granted Swedish citizenship. The authority wrote in its decision:

“As a rule, this requires a certain qualifying period—at least two years—during which you demonstrate that you intend in the future to fulfill your obligations before you can become a Swedish citizen.”

The Migration Agency’s rejection was upheld by the migration court in August 2024. The judgment referenced the citizenship law’s requirement for an honest way of life.

In February 2026, the Migration Agency made a new assessment and Ali was then granted Swedish citizenship.

Unemployed and lacks repayment capacity

Ali currently describes himself as unemployed and the debt restructuring runs until June 2027. At the time it was decided, he had, according to Expressen, reported a monthly income before tax of 10,710 kronor. His taxed income was 15,800 kronor in 2023, 32,500 kronor in 2024, and 162,700 kronor in 2025.

The Enforcement Authority has determined that he lacks repayment capacity. The debt restructuring therefore contains no repayment plan and Ali is currently not paying anything towards the debts.

– It is a debt restructuring without a payment plan. So it means that he is not paying anything during the debt restructuring. This is because he currently lacks the ability to pay for it, the Enforcement Authority told Expressen.

However, the situation may radically change when Ali takes his seat in parliament. The tax-funded base salary for a member of parliament is 81,400 kronor per month in 2026. According to the Enforcement Authority’s rules, the sharply increased income may mean that the debt restructuring needs to be reconsidered.

Ali himself states that he intends to do the right thing. “When it comes to my background, I’ve had some debts, but right now debt restructuring is ongoing and there are no further demands on me. Of course, I will complete the restructuring and do the right thing,” he wrote in an email to Expressen.

He does not want to comment on questions about the citizenship process itself or previous assessments regarding lack of honest lifestyle.

Runs company for Somalia with former Moderate politician

On the side, Ali sits on the board of AfriTech GrowTh AB together with Agneta Nyvall, formerly a Moderate politician in Borlänge and now active in the local party Ny Framtid.

The company, according to both, is in a start-up phase and will work with technical solutions for social development in African countries, especially Ali’s home country Somalia, where he has been more engaged than in his work for the Left Party in Sweden.

Nyvall states that Ali traveled to Somalia several times during the spring and met with representatives of the country’s government. The work will include digital technology and digital identity solutions. Since the company has not yet started any business, the trips were, according to Nyvall, paid for privately.

To familiarize himself with parliamentary work

Ali says he is happy and proud of the personal votes but is also aware that much is new. “I have not had any positions before, and I feel a great responsibility to familiarize myself with more issues and how I can best represent the party in parliament,” he writes.

He points to housing, healthcare, care, and people’s cost of living as issues he wants to work on.

For Kajsa Fredholm, the personal vote means that her four years in parliament look set to come to an end. A politically untested party colleague who was ninth on the list and whom few in the Left Party even seem to know has, with 648 personal crosses, surpassed the party’s climate policy spokesperson.

The Left Party in Borlänge told Expressen that they will comment on the situation after the weekend. For now, they do not wish to comment.