Swedish Prime Minister resigns after parliamentary elections defeat

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation on Thursday after preliminary results showed his right-wing bloc lost its parliamentary majority in the general election.

“The Speaker will now lead the next steps toward forming a new government. To allow that process to begin immediately, He hereby request to be relieved of my duties as prime minister,” Kristersson said in a letter to the speaker of parliament which he posted to a social media.

Preliminary results released earlier Thursday by the Swedish Election Authority showed that the center-left opposition bloc had secured a parliamentary majority, with all 6,626 electoral districts counted. Together, the four opposition parties received 49.6 percent of the vote and secured 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament. Kristersson’s right-wing bloc received 48.8 percent of the vote and won 173 seats.