The Swedish Election Authority's final candidate list for the 2026 elections includes 54,780 people. Together they represent 71,496 valid candidacies because one person may stand in several elections or for more than one party. Of these, 6,309 concern parliament, 12,836 regional councils and 52,351 municipal councils.
What happened?
The final deadline to consent to candidacy on an open list was 11 September, two days before election day. Candidates on closed lists had to consent by 9 April. Once the deadlines passed, the Election Authority could compile the final list of people and candidacies.
The number of people, 54,780, is lower than the number of candidacies, 71,496. The difference reflects overlap: one person may stand in municipal, regional and parliamentary elections or hold more than one valid candidacy. Figures for the three levels must therefore not be added as unique individuals.
Location
Sverige
Impact and significance
The statistics show the scale of democratic recruitment behind elected seats. They also distinguish a candidate from a candidacy, two measures easily confused. One person counts once among individuals but may appear several times in candidacy statistics.
Being a candidate does not mean being elected. Final representation depends on party votes, seat allocation, list order, personal votes and eligibility under election rules.
Background
Parties with a registered designation may register candidates and use a closed list. Parties that have only notified participation without a registered designation cannot close their list. On open lists, candidates can consent and voters may write in names. The party cannot prevent a valid consenting person from standing or being elected for it.
A write-in candidate could only be elected if consent was submitted no later than two days before the election.
Latest update
The Election Authority publishes searchable candidates, named ballot papers and raw data. After the election, these records must be combined with confirmed results to identify members and substitutes. Candidate statistics are complete for the election, while seat outcomes follow a separate process.
Sources
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Reviewed: 2026-09-15. Independent editorial content. WUA Sverige is not affiliated with any political party.