52 Kurdish Candidates to Contest Sweden’s 2026 General Elections

Reports 12:48 PM - 2026-09-05

Sweden will hold general elections on 13 September 2026.

Sweden will hold general elections on 13 September 2026 to elect members of parliament, regional councils and municipal councils. According to election statistics, 52 Kurdish figures have put themselves forward as candidates on the lists of various political parties.

Kurdish Candidates

According to the Swedish Election Authority, 54,212 candidates have registered to contest the elections.

Kurdish candidates are standing across all three levels of government — parliament, regions and municipalities — with 52 prominent Kurdish figures among them. They include activists, artists and politicians, comprising 28 men and 24 women.

The largest number of Kurdish candidates — 30 — are standing on the Social Democratic Party’s lists, while others are contesting the elections under parties including the Left Party and the Green Party.

Electoral System and Statistics

Sweden has a population of approximately 10.6 million, while the latest figures from the Swedish Election Authority show that 8,046,725 people are eligible to vote.

The country is divided into 290 municipalities and 21 regions. Following the election, a party or coalition must secure at least 175 seats in the 349-member parliament to form a government.

A total of 165 political parties are contesting seats in parliament. Eight parties are currently represented in the Swedish Parliament: the Social Democrats, Sweden Democrats, Moderates, Centre Party, Left Party, Christian Democrats, Green Party and Liberals.

The parties are broadly divided between the centre-left and centre-right blocs.

According to opinion polls, the Social Democrats are currently leading with around 33% support.

PUK Supports Kurdish Candidates

A delegation from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is currently in Sweden to support Kurdish candidates standing in the elections.

Salar Mahmoud, Head of the Foreign Relations Central Board of the PUK, Amal Jalal, Head of the PUK's Democratic Organisations Board, and several Kurdish candidates on the Social Democratic Party’s lists held a meeting in Gothenburg to discuss the party's support for the candidates.

Speaking to PUKMEDIA, Mahmoud said the delegation’s presence was aimed at supporting Kurdish candidates on the Social Democratic Party's lists as well as Kurdish candidates more broadly.

“We encourage the Kurdish diaspora to participate in government, parliament, cultural institutions and civil society organisations,” he said, stressing that members of the Kurdish diaspora understand better than anyone that political and civic participation represents a modern form of struggle.

He added that such participation was important for advancing the Kurdish cause and strengthening relations between different communities.

Kurdish Candidates Thank the PUK

Meanwhile, Shadyie Haydari, a former Swedish parliamentarian and current candidate in Gothenburg, thanked the PUK for its support for the Kurdish diaspora and for Kurdish candidates contesting parliamentary and local elections.

“We thank the PUK for its support to the Kurdish diaspora in general and for supporting this new process, in which many Kurds from different parts of Kurdistan have put themselves forward for parliament and local councils,” Haydari told PUKMEDIA.

Dr Chro Waledbeg, a parliamentary candidate, also thanked the PUK for its support for Kurdish politicians abroad, describing the initiative as a positive and important step.

Sweden’s Electoral Threshold

Sweden has a 4% electoral threshold for parties seeking representation in parliament. Parties must secure at least 4% of the national vote to win parliamentary seats.

The 2026 election will mark the 52nd parliamentary term since the constitutional reforms of 1866 and the establishment of Sweden’s modern parliamentary system.

Municipal and regional elections, then known as Landsting elections, were initially held two years after parliamentary elections, midway through the parliamentary term. From 1970 onwards, parliamentary, regional and municipal elections have been held simultaneously.



PUKMEDIA