2026 Swedish local elections

Local government in Sweden is divided into two levels of democratic representation: the regional level and the municipal level. Both levels are governed by the Local Government Act (Kommunallagen) adopted in 1991. Regions and municipalities do not hold legislative powers; nonetheless, they do have executive powers in taxation (including the right to levy income taxes), and administration at their respective levels.^[2]

The 2026 elections follow the 2022 elections, which saw a shift toward right-wing and center-right coalitions in several major regions, while the Social Democrats remained the dominant party in the northern parts of the country. Key issues for the 2026 cycle are expected to include healthcare accessibility, regional public transport, and the economic integration of rural municipalities.

Sweden uses a proportional representation system for all local elections.^[3] To vote in local elections, a person must be at least 18 years old. Unlike national elections, non-Swedish citizens can vote if they are EU citizens or if they have been registered residents in Sweden for at least three consecutive years.^[4] Seats are allocated using the Modified Sainte-Laguë method. A statutory threshold of 3% applies to regional council elections, while municipal elections have a threshold of either 2% or 3%, depending on the size of the electoral district.

Regional councils are responsible for healthcare, public transport, culture, and regional development.^[2] The political leadership of a region is headed by the Chair of the Regional Board (Regionstyrelsens ordförande), who is elected by each regional council via majority. The regional councils have a combined total of 1,696 seats.

More information ISO, County ...

ISO	County	Regional Council	Incumbent Chair of the Regional Board			Elected Chair
			Name	Party		Name	Paty
AB	Stockholm	Region Stockholm	Aida Hadžialić		S
C	Uppsala	Region Uppsala	Helena Proos		S
D	Södermanland	Region Sörmland	Christoffer Öqvist		M
E	Östergötland	Region Östergötland	Marie Morell		M
F	Jönköping	Region Jönköping County	Rachel De Basso		S
G	Kronoberg	Region Kronoberg	Mikael Johansson		M
H	Kalmar	Region Kalmar County	Angelica Katsanidou		S
I	Gotland	Region Gotland	Meit Fohlin		S
K	Blekinge	Region Blekinge	Robert Lindén		SD
M	Skåne	Region Skåne	Carl Johan Sonesson		M
N	Halland	Region Halland	Mikaela Waltersson		M
O	Västra Götaland	Region Västra Götaland	Helén Eliasson		S
S	Värmland	Region Värmland	Åsa Johansson		S
T	Örebro	Region Örebro County	Andreas Svahn		S
U	Västmanland	Region Västmanland	Mikael Andersson Elfgren		M
W	Dalarna	Region Dalarna	Elin Norén		S
X	Gävleborg	Region Gävleborg	Patrik Stenvard		M
Y	Västernorrland	Region Västernorrland	Glenn Nordlund		S
Z	Jämtland	Region Jämtland Härjedalen	Bengt Bergqvist		S
AC	Västerbotten	Region Västerbotten	Peter Olofsson		S
BD	Norrbotten	Region Norrbotten	Anders Öberg		S

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The 290 municipal councils represent the most local level of government, responsible for local roads, schools, social services, urban planning, waste management and environmental protection.^[2] These elections will determine the distribution of approximately 12,700 seats nationwide. Following the elections, the new municipal councils will appoint the Municipal Executive Boards (Kommunstyrelsen).