Swedish premier formally resigns after Social Democrats concede election defeat

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – Magdalena Andersson, Sweden's outgoing prime minister and the leader of Social Democrats, formally resigned on Thursday after conceding defeat in the knife-edge election.

She will hand over the power to a right-wing coalition that includes far-right Sweden Democrats and center-right parties.

Andersson accepted the defeat in a news conference on Wednesday, she, however, reminded everyone that the Social Democrats are still Sweden’s largest party with over 30% of the vote.

"I have just been with the president and have submitted my request for dismissal as the prime minister of Sweden," she said right after a meeting with President Andreas Norlen.

Norlen granted Andersson’s request and is now working towards producing a new prime minister.

In the mean time, Andersson will be leading a transitional government before a new government is formed and will continue to lead the Social Democrats.

She stretched out a hand to the traditional right wing party Moderates, inviting them to cooperate with the Social Democrats.

"If the Moderates were to come up with other thoughts and want to cooperate with me instead of the Sweden Democrats, then my door will be open," she said.

When asked what it feels like to have to hand over power, she replied:

"This is not about me, it's about Sweden."

Andersson pointed out that she will be working towards a smooth change of government and that she will congratulate Ulf Kristersson, leader of Moderates, on the day he becomes Sweden's prime minister.

Andersson revealed that her party Social Democrats will be analyzing the mistakes that they made during the campaigning to see "what we can learn from this and what we can do based on it to achieve even greater support from the electorate."

The Moderate Party leader will be asked to form a government.

His right-wing bloc includes anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, a far-right party that was once banned from politics due to Nazi ties.

The Sweden Democrats are now the second-largest party in the Nordic country.

Despite the Social Democrats remaining the largest party in Sweden, it is bloc politics that usually decide who gets to lead the country.

With 99% of votes being counted, it is now confirmed that the right-wing bloc has won 176 seats, while the leftist block has secured 173 seats in the Riksdag, Swedish parliament.

The final result, however, will be announced after a recount, which is a standard Sweden's election practice.