ELECTIONS ’14

A Mundus International Journal

Elections ’14 is a journal of six issues, which monitors and analyses the elections to the and the Swedish in 2014. The journal has been specifically developed for foreign missions.

PART 3: THE ELECTIONS March, 2014

Part 3: The Elections

ELECTIONS ’14

A Mundus International Journal

2014 marks an important political year in with elections to the European Parliament on May 25 and the national elections being held on September 14. This third issue of Elections ’14 explains how the elections will be conducted and looks at the political proceedings following the national elections. introduction ...... 2 sweden’s levels of government ...... 3 sweden’s electoral system ...... 4 29 constituencies ...... 4 On Election Day ...... 5 the swedish national elections ...... 5 post election ...... 6 Electing the Speaker of the Riksdag ...... 6 Proposing the new Prime Minister ...... 7 Forming the new government ...... 7 european parliament elections ...... 8 Electoral laws vary within the Union ...... 8 Sweden’s electoral system ...... 9 in addition: eu top jobs to be filled ...... 9 appendix 1 ...... 12 appendix 2 ...... 13 appendix 3 ...... 14 appendix 4 ...... 15 references ...... 16

“Swedish democracy is founded on the free formation of opinion and on universal and equal suffrage. It shall be realised through a representative and parliamentary polity and through local self-government.” The Instrument of Government

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INTRODUCTION 2014 – the Swedish ’super election year’. And indeed, the political temperature is starting to heat up in Sweden. This week the government Alliance launched their joint election campaign, and the opposition parties are stepping up the campaigning as we approach the first of this year’s elections.

With little more than six months before the 2014 parliamentary election, Sweden's opposition red-green political block is holding onto its strong lead in the polls, and the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats continuously scores below the 4 per cent threshold for representation in the Riksdag. At the European level, the Liberal Party, the Green Party, and the Left Party could see a boost in support in this Spring's election according to recent polls. Both the Green Party and the Left Party are polling over ten per cent of the vote, way above their polling ratings for the upcoming national election in September (see Appendices 1 and 2).

The election campaigns for the national- and EU elections are shaping up in different ways, but the EU elections are receiving comparably little attention in the Swedish media. Most Swedes seem to find it hard to get excited about the elections in May – polls indicate that less than half of Swedes want to stay in the EU. Although, the proportion of resolute nay-sayers is decreasing, according to Statistics Sweden. The lukewarm feeling towards Europe was reflected in the low voter turnout in 2009. In Sweden, where turnout at the last national election was 85 per cent, only 45 per cent of eligible Swedes used their vote in the last European elections. However, there are polls indicating that more Swedish voters intend to vote in the 2014 elections to the European Parliament, than ever before. Ahead of this year’s EP election, the political groups in the European parliament have for the first time appointed ‘lead candidates’, who will be the main faces of their campaigns – all in an attempt to mobilise voters and give a sense of this being a united European election.

Between now and September, the media coverage of the elections will increase and the political parties will step up their political campaigning. The 2010 election campaign featured new approaches to reaching voters with social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, Internet blogs and other new technologies presented alternatives to traditional mass media. This trend will continue in this year’s political campaigns. 2010 also saw paid political campaign advertising on commercial TV channels being allowed for the first time.

An important feature is the traditional live debate between the prime minister and the leader of the largest opposition party on Sveriges Television (SVT). The live debate – called the Duel (Duellen) – aims to clarify policy differences between the government and the opposition and will be aired on 7 September. Another live two-hour long debate – the Final Debate (Slutdebatten) – is showed on SVT on 12 September. In this debate, the leaders of the Riksdag parties will debate the main issues in the campaign and highlight differences in their platforms to help undecided voters make their choice. Ahead of the European Election, SVT will send party leader debate on 23 May.

The last edition of Elections ’14 guided you through some of the issues debated in the on-going election campaigns. This edition focuses on how the upcoming elections will be conducted and explains how the government is formed following an election. At the EU level, there are common rules, but the elections to the European Parliament are to a large extent organised according to national legislations and traditions, some of which are outlined here. This edition also reviews the top EU positions that will be made vacant during the course of the year. Our intention is that you will draw on this research document as we approach the elections.

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SWEDEN’S LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT Sweden has three levels of government: national, regional and local – and at a European level following Sweden's entry into the in 1995. There is no hierarchy among the levels of government and each level has its own specific responsibilities. At the national level, the people are represented by the Swedish parliament (hereafter referred to as the Riksdag), which is the supreme political decision-making body in Sweden. Since 1971, the Swedish Riksdag is a unicameral body composed of 349 members elected, for a fixed four-year term. There are currently eight parties represented in the Riksdag: the Social Democratic Party, the , the Green Party, the Liberal Party, the Centre Party, the , the Christian Democrats, and the Left Party.

At the regional level, Sweden is divided into 20 counties (län), which include the regions of Gotland, Halland, Västra Götaland and Skåne. Political tasks at this level are undertaken by the county councils (landsting). At the local level, Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities (kommun), each with an elected assembly or council. Municipal and county council/regional assemblies are the highest decision-making bodies at the local and regional levels. At the regional level there are also county administrative boards, the government bodies for the counties. The current Local Government Act, which came into force in 1992, defines the roles of municipalities, county councils and regions as follows:

• Municipalities are responsible for matters relating to the inhabitants of the municipality and their immediate environment, such as housing, roads, water supply, schools, public welfare, elderly care and childcare. The municipalities are entitled to levy income taxes on individuals. • The county councils are responsible for overseeing tasks that cannot be handled at the local level by municipalities but which rather require coordination across a larger region, most notably health care.

The figure below shows the three democratic levels and their respective responsibilities.

Source: Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, http://www.skl.se

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SWEDEN’S ELECTORAL SYSTEM In Sweden, the Constitution, the Elections Act and the Election Ordinance are the primary legal instruments regulating the conduct of elections. The election system is based on proportional representation. It is not possible to limit suffrage rights in Sweden and the last limitation on the grounds of mental incapacity was lifted in 1991.

Unlike many other parliamentary democracies of Europe, Sweden has regularly scheduled dates for general elections. General elections to the Riksdag, the municipal assemblies and the county council assemblies are held together on the second Sunday of September every fourth year (the term was extended from three to four years in 1994). Elections to the European Parliament are held every five years. In these national elections, Swedes vote for political parties to represent them in the three political assemblies: the municipal assembly, the county council or regional assembly and the Riksdag. The national elections are held together on the same day – the second Sunday in September.

Turnout in the national elections is high, typically in the 80 to 90 per cent range of eligible voters. However voter turnout among foreign-born Swedish citizens - despite representing a significant number of registered voters – is usually low, despite government efforts to address the issue. The differences in voter participation between various groups are also more noticeable in European elections than in general elections. Voter turnout in the elections to the European Parliament are usually much lower than in the general elections; 37 per cent voted in 2004 EU election and 46 per cent voted in 2009. To address this the government is conducting a number of initiatives in order to increase voter turnout. In the Budget Bill for 2014, SEK 60 million was allocated for measures to increase voter turnout, with young people and foreign-born being the priority target groups.

Any new political party hoping to stand for the general election or European Parliament elections must have 1,500 signatures. One hundred signatures are required for county council elections and 50 signatures are needed for the municipal council election. 11 new political parties have registered at the Election Authority to become eligible for elections this year. Historically, small parties have not fared well in the elections, but representatives from many of the new parties say they speak for a segment of the population who disagree with the voting behaviour of the existing political parties.

29 constituencies Sweden is divided into 29 constituencies for elections to the Riksdag (in elections to the European Parliament, the entire country forms one constituency). Constituencies generally correspond with counties, but the counties of Stockholm, Skåne, and Västra Götaland each comprise a number of constituencies due to population size. A normal constituency elects between 10 and 12 members of the Riksdag. However, there are great differences between the various constituencies: the largest is Stockholm County, currently with 38 members. The smallest is Gotland County with only 2 members. Election constituencies are, in turn, divided into electoral districts, with one polling station per electoral district. The County Administrative Boards determine the borders of the electoral districts. There is no lower or upper limit in terms of size of the electoral districts; the smallest districts contain only a few hundred voters, whereas the largest ones contain more than 2,000 eligible voters.

The Election Authority (Valmyndigheten) is responsible for administering elections in Sweden. At the sub- national level, there are 21 County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen) and 290 municipal Election Committees. County Administrative Boards take all decisions concerning their electoral districts and are responsible for establishing the results of municipal and county council elections.

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Electoral rolls are compiled before each election and contain only the people who have the right to vote in the election concerned. The right to vote in elections to the Riksdag is enjoyed by Swedish citizens who attain the age of 18 not later than on Election Day and who are, or at some time have been, registered resident in Sweden. In addition, the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament is also enjoyed by citizens of other member states of the European Union who attain the age of 18 years not later than Election Day. All citizens who have attained 18 years of age and who have, at some point in time, been residents in Sweden have the right to vote. To be entitled to vote in the municipal and county council/regional elections, voters must either be citizens of another EU member state or Nordic country and registered in Sweden at the time of the election, or have been registered as a resident in Sweden for the last three years.

On Election Day The Election Authority sends out voting cards to those who are entitled to vote ahead of an election. The electorate cast their votes at the polling station in the district where they are included in the electoral roll. Voting is not compulsory. Ballot papers are yellow for the Riksdag elections, blue for county council elections and white for municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament. Votes are cast for a political party and may, at the same time, express a preference for individual candidates on the ballot paper. This is called preference voting (see further under the heading ‘Swedish national elections).

Election officials in each electoral district start counting the votes received when the polling stations have closed at 8 p.m. on Election Day (9 p.m. for elections to the European Parliament). The final count begins at the County Administrative Board on the Monday after Election Day. There all the votes are counted again including the number of preference votes for each candidate. The election to the Riksdag is counted first, followed by the municipal council and finally the county council elections. Once the counting has finished, distribution of seats among the parties begins. The Swedish electoral system uses proportional representation, which means that the share of seats any party receives in the Riksdag generally reflects the share of all the votes received by that party.

Sweden does not have by-elections. If a seat becomes vacant during the course of a Riksdag term, the next candidate on the list is installed; if a list is exhausted, the seat remains open until the next general elections.

THE SWEDISH NATIONAL ELECTIONS The electoral system is intended to distribute seats in the Riksdag between the parties as fairly as possible in proportion to the number of votes cast. In order to participate in the allocation of seats and achieve representation in the Riksdag, a party must obtain at least 4 per cent of the national popular vote or 12 per cent in a single constituency. The rule is designed to prevent very small parties from being represented in the Riksdag.

The Riksdag seats are distributed by the Election Authority on the basis of the reports of the counting from the different County Administrative Boards. There are 349

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Riksdag seats (mandat); of these 310 are permanent constituency seats.1 The remaining 39 ‘adjustment seats’ are allocated to achieve the best possible proportional distribution of seats between the parties for the country as a whole. This means that the adjustment seats are first allocated according to party and then according to constituency.

Once the distribution of Riksdag seats have been established between the parties, attention then turns to which candidates will occupy them. Members of the Riksdag are selected primarily on the strength of votes cast for them personally. The personal preference vote score is the number of votes cast for a particular candidate in a particular constituency. In order to be returned on the strength of personal preference votes, the candidate must have gained such votes corresponding to at least 5 per cent of the party vote in the constituency. This was rule was recently changed; in the last election, a candidate needed to gain at least 8 per cent of the vote in one constituency.

In county council elections, a political party must gain at least 3 per cent of all valid votes cast in the whole county in order to take part in the distribution of seats. There is no threshold for municipal elections in the electoral system.

Between 2011 and 2013, a parliamentary committee consisting of representatives from all parties in the Riksdag produced proposals for changes to the electoral system. The government has considered the proposals and, in November last year, the government submitted a bill to the Riksdag for consideration. The bill proposes amendments to the constitution and the electoral law with the intention that seats in the Riksdag, county councils and municipal be proportionally distributed so that the distribution of seats better reflects how voters have voted. Additionally, the government proposes that a 2 per cent threshold be introduced in municipalities. The intention is for most of the changes to come into effect prior to the elections in 2018.

POST ELECTION Electing the Speaker of the Riksdag After every election the Riksdag elects or re-elects a Speaker. The members of the Riksdag appoint from among themselves one Speaker and three Deputy Speakers for one electoral period (four years) at a time. The decision is taken at the first meeting of the Riksdag session following the election. There are no rules as to which party the Speaker is to be appointed from, neither are there any clear guidelines. However, the Speaker is usually appointed from the largest party forming the government. This has been true since 1982. During the period of non-socialist governments in 1976-82, however, the Speaker was a Social Democrat and thus a member of the largest party represented in the Riksdag that period. The posts of Deputy Speaker have been allocated to the parties in relation to their size in the Riksdag. Members of the party from which the Speaker is chosen never obtain any of the posts of Deputy Speaker. The Speakers may be removed by a decision of the Riksdag.

1 To allocate the fixed seats, a comparative index is worked out by dividing the number of votes for each party by 1.4. The party with the highest index gains the first seat in the constituency. That party’s votes are then divided by 3. The other parties retain their indexes as long as they do not have a seat. Next time the party is allotted a seat, its votes are divided by 5, then by 7 etc. on until all of the fixed seats have been allocated.

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Proposing the new Prime Minister The outcome of the election determines how and if a new government will be formed. In Sweden, the Speaker if the Riksdag has an important role when forming a new government - it is the Speaker of the Riksdag who proposes a new Prime Minister. Sweden thus differs from other democracies, where the Head of State usually performs this duty. Only the Speaker is entitled to submit proposals concerning the post of Prime Minister. Following the elections, it is the task of the newly-elected - or re-elected - Speaker to submit a proposal for a new Prime Minister. If the Speaker is a new official, it is assumed that the retiring Speaker will prepare the change of government by starting discussions with the party leaders immediately after a government has resigned, in order not to lose time. When a government is due to resign, the Prime Minister approaches the Speaker, who dismisses the government. At the same time the Speaker requests the government to remain in office as a caretaker government (expeditionsregering). The caretaker government is meant to deal solely with routine business and is not allowed to take any political initiatives or to call new elections.

Forming the new government If a new government is to be formed, the Speaker summons the leaders of all parties in the Riksdag and the Deputy Speakers for consultation. The number and scope of these discussions can vary depending on how complicated the political situation is. The usual procedure is that the Speaker instructs the party leaders to collectively review the possibilities of forming a government that will have the support of the Riksdag. These discussions with party leaders enables the Speaker to judge which prime ministerial candidate the Riksdag might be prepared to approve.

The Speaker submits to the Riksdag the proposal for new Prime Minister and states at the same time which parties will be included in the government. The Riksdag then votes on the Speaker’s proposal. This reflects the 2011 change in the electoral law, that the Prime Minister must win a vote of confidence in the Riksdag after each election. If more than half the total number of members of the Riksdag, (i.e. 175) vote against the proposal, the Prime Minister is rejected. If the Speaker’s proposal for a new Prime Minister is rejected four times, an extraordinary election must be held within three months. If the Riksdag approves the Speaker’s proposal, the Prime Minister designate forms a government. The change of government takes place at a special meeting at the Royal Palace during which the Head of State, the King, presides as chairman. The Speaker is present at this meeting and gives an account of the proposal and the decision of the Riksdag. The King thereafter verifies the fact that a change of government has taken place.

It is the task of the Prime Minister to determine the composition of the government. Thus the Prime Minister appoints the ministers and informs the Riksdag of their inclusion in the government. The Prime Minister also decides which ministers are to be Heads of Ministries. The Prime Minister may replace ministers, transfer ministers and increase or decrease the number of ministers without consulting the Riksdag and without it being a question of forming a new government. It is not necessary for cabinet ministers to have a seat in the Riksdag or to be politicians, but most ministers have usually held some sort of political office for many years and many are members of the Riksdag. While they are serving in the government, however, their seats in the Riksdag are filled by substitutes from the electoral lists.

At the official opening of the Riksdag, the new Prime Minister delivers a Statement of Government Policy, which presents an outline of the incoming government’s policy goals for the next year and defines priority policy areas at national and international level. This year, the Riksdag session is scheduled to open on

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September 30. It is usually delivered at the same time as the Prime Minister announces the composition of the government.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS The first direct elections to the European Parliament were held in 1979. Prior to this, (from 1958 to 1974), Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were appointed by the national parliaments of the member states, with all members holding a dual mandate. Nowadays, all European Union member states hold elections to the European Parliament in the period between April and July every five years. Each member state has its own electoral laws and each country decides on what day its citizens will go to the polls during the four-day election period. The election period is determined at EU level but the exact polling date and opening hours for polling stations vary according to the national electoral laws. On 22-25 May this year, EU citizens will cast their votes to elect 751 members of the European Parliament. In Sweden, the election will be held on 25 May. The results from all 28 states will be announced on the evening of Sunday 25 May.

The upcoming EP elections will be the first elections since the Lisbon Treaty of 2009 gave the European Parliament a number of new powers. As such, these EU elections have been promoted under the slogan ‘This time it’s different’. One major new development that was introduced by the 2009 Treaty is that the EU member states have to take account of the European election results when nominating the next President of the European Commission. The new European Parliament must endorse this candidate, which means voters have a say in appointing the new President of the European Commission.

The turnout in the elections to the European Parliament has varied significantly from one member state to another since 1979. While low in many cases, the figures are not dissimilar to those for local elections in many European countries. In Sweden, the voter turnout to the European Parliament election is typically much lower than to the national general elections, which typically is above 80 per cent. In the 2004 election to the European Parliament, only 37 per cent of those eligible voted. There was an increase in voter turnout at the in 2009 election when 45 per cent voted and the new entered the European Parliament.2 Recent polls indicate that the upward trend is continuing in Sweden; when asked whether they intended to vote, 55 per cents of those eligible said they intend to vote in the election on 25 May.

Electoral laws vary within the Union There are common EU rules that lay down that the elections must be by direct universal suffrage as well as free and confidential, but the elections to the European Parliament are to a large extent organised according to national legislations and traditions. Members of the European Parliament must be elected in the member states on the basis of proportional representation. But it is up to each member state whether it uses an open or closed list system.

2 In the 2009 European Parliament elections the Social Democratic Party won five seats after getting 24.41 per cent of the votes. The Moderate Party won four seats (18.83 per cent of the votes). The results for the two major parties were almost identical to the results in the 2004 elections. The Liberal Party came third winning three seats ahead of the Green party who took two seats. The Pirate Party, the Left Party, the Centre Party, and the Christian Democrats won one seat respectively.

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Each member state may establish constituencies for elections to the European Parliament or subdivide its electoral area in a different manner. Most member states have chosen to consider the whole country as one constituency. Belgium, France, Ireland and the UK have several constituencies or electoral areas. In Germany, and Poland votes are cast in separate constituencies too, but the election results are determined at national level.

Where voting is based on an open list system, voters can indicate a preference for one or more candidates on the list. This is done in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. When voting with a closed list system, the political parties establish the order of candidates and the voters only cast their vote for a party. This is done in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the UK (except Northern Ireland). Meanwhile in Ireland and Malta, as well as in Northern Ireland, a Single Transferable Vote system is used.

In some countries, such as France and the UK, pre-registration on an electoral roll is required. In many other countries this is done automatically. Voting is compulsory in Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg. There are differences among member states as to the minimum age for voting; in several member states the voting age is 18 (e.g. Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden), whereas in Austria you can vote at the age of 16.

EU citizens living in a EU country other than their country of origin are entitled to vote in their country of residence but the national electoral law may lay down specific procedures on how to do this. Usually they are also entitled to choose instead to vote in their country of origin (for example, by post or at the embassy) but this also depends on the national electoral law. Commonwealth citizens, for example Canadians and Australians, whose names appear on the electoral roll in the UK are also entitled to vote. In addition, EU citizens may stand for election in another EU country; there are several examples of elected Members in the current European Parliament who have stood for election in a country other than their country of origin.

Sweden’s electoral system In the European Parliament elections, Sweden constitutes a single constituency for elections to the European Parliament. Sweden previously had 18 seats in the Parliament, but was allocated an additional two seats when the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.

In Sweden, you are entitled to vote in the election to the European Parliament if you are a Swedish citizen and you have reached the age of 18 by election day at the latest. You are also entitled to vote in the Swedish election if you are a citizen of another EU member state and were registered in Sweden no later than 30 days before Election Day.

Similar to the national parliamentary elections, the threshold is set to 4 per cent. As in the national elections, voters may express preferences for a certain candidate on their favoured party list. In order to be elected to the European Parliament on the strength of personal preference votes, a candidate must have gained votes corresponding to at least 5 per cent of the party vote.

IN ADDITION: EU TOP JOBS TO BE FILLED The European Commission and Parliament are entering the final stretch before the May elections. 2014 will also bring about change in many of the top positions in the EU executive, such as the Presidency of the Commission and the , the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, 9

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and a new set of European Commissioners (for a timeline of the appointments, see chart on page 11). The position of President of the European Council was created only in 2009, by the Lisbon treaty, which also increased the importance of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy.

The EU appointments are negotiated on the basis of nationality and political allegiance, and are expected to reflect a fair representation of the Member States and of the political power balance in the European Union. During the course of 2014, the following positions will become available:

▪ The presidency of the European Commission

The current President of the European Commission is José Manuel Barroso, who began his second term of office in February 2010. The President is nominated by the European Council. The appointment of the President is subject to the approval of the European Parliament.

▪ The presidency of the European Council

Mr Herman Van Rompuy has been the President of the European Council since 2009. He will retire after his term expires in late November. According to the Treaty, the European Council elects its President by a qualified majority. A Presidential term is two and a half years, renewable once.

▪ The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy

The post is currently held by Catherine Ashton. The High Representative is one of the five Vice- Presidents of the European Commission and presides over the Foreign Affairs Council. The High Representative is appointed by the European Council by a qualified majority, with the approval of the President of the Commission for a mandate of five years.

• European Commissioner roles

The 28 Commissioners, one from each EU country, provide the Commission’s political leadership during their 5-year term. Each member state nominates their candidate to the Commission president who assigns each Commissioner responsibility for specific policy areas. The appointment of all Commissioners is subject to the approval of the European Parliament.

• The presidency of the European Parliament

The current President of the European Parliament is . The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast in a secret ballot is elected President. The President’s term of office, which may be renewed, is two and a half years – half a parliamentary term.

The selection process for the top EU jobs will be different this time around. Only the position of European Parliament president will be selected the same way as in the past. In addition to the big changes in the European political landscape, positions outside the EU, such as the Secretary-General of NATO are changing hands and adding to the political game ahead.

The next edition of Elections ’14 will be devoted to the elections in Europe, including a section on the top Swedish contenders for the European Parliament. It will be published on 16 May.

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APPENDIX 1 LATEST POLL ON THE SWEDISH GENERAL ELECTION as of 16 March, 2014

Source: http://metapolls.net

Polling company: SIFO Publication date: 16 March, 2014 Field Period: 3-13 March 2014

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APPENDIX 2 LATEST POLL ON THE EP ELECTION as of 15 February, 2014

Note: Comparison with results of 2009 EP election.

Source: http://metapolls.net and http://www.europeanvoice.com

Polling company: Sifo Publication date: 15 February 2014 Fieldwork Period: 30 January

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APPENDIX 3 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

Source: European Parliament

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APPENDIX 4 TOP SWEDISH CANDIDATES IN THE EP ELECTION

Moderate Party (EPP)

1. Gunnar Hökmark 2. Christofer Fjellner 3. Anna Maria Corazza Bildt 4. Carl-Oskar Bohlin 5. Cecilie Tenfjord Toftby 6. 7. Carl Johan Sonesson 8. Christian Holm 9. Jelena Drenjanin 10. Cecilia Magnusson

Christian Democrats (EPP)

1. Lars Adaktusson 2. Ebba Busch Thor 3. Mikael Anefur 4. Désirée Pethrus 5. Anders Sellström 6. 7. Lars O Molin 8. Matilda S Granberg 9. Charlie Weimers 10. Caroline Szyber

Social Democratic Party (S&D)

1. Marita Ulvskog 2. Olle Ludvigsson 3. 4. Jens Nilsson 5. Anna Hedh 6. Aleksander Gabelic 7. Ellinor Eriksson 8. Mattias Olsson 9. 10.

Centre Party (ALDE)

1. Kent Johansson 2. Kristina Yngwe 3. 4. Hanna Wagenius 5. Staffan Nilsson 6. Ewa-May Karlsson 7. Isak Engqvist 8. Carola Gunnarsson 9. Pelle Thörnberg 10. Gunilla Hjelm

Green Party (G/EFA

1. Isabella Lövin 2. Peter Eriksson 3. Bodil Ceballos 4. Max Andersson 5. Linnéa Engström 6. 7. Karin Svensson Smith 8. Kurdo Baksi 9. Anwahr Athahb 10. Björn Lindgren

Liberal People's Party (ALDE)

1. Marit Paulsen 2. Cecilia Wikström 3. Jasenko Selimovic 4. Tina Acketoft 5. Erik Scheller 6. Jenny Sonesson 7. Staffan Werme 8. Robert Hannah 9. Maria Weimer 10. Jens Sundström

Pirate Party (G/EFA)

1. Christian Engström 2. 3. Anna Troberg 4. Gustav Nipe 5. Mattias Bjärnemalm 6. 7. Deeqo Hussein 8. Nils Agnesson 9. Henrik Brändén 10. Gun Svensson

Left Party (GUE/NGL)

1. Malin Björk 2. Mikael Gustafsson 3. Liselott Olsson 4. Linda Snecker 5. Dror Feiler 6. Birgitta Axelsson Edström 7. Leo Ahmed 8. Birgitta Sevefjord 9. Mia Sydow Mölleby 10. Emil Broberg

Sweden Democrats

1. Kristina Winberg 2. Peter Lundgren 3. Johnny Skalin 4. Julia Kronlid 5. Roger Richthoff 6. Paula Bieler 7. Pavel Gamov 8. Markus Wiechel 9. Anna Hagvall 10. Mikael Jansson

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REFERENCES

Council of the European Union, http://www.consilium.europa.eu/council/what-is-the-presidency?lang=en

Europaportalen, http://www.europaportalen.se/tema/eu-valet-2014

European Council, http://www.european-council.europa.eu/the-president

Europe Decides, http://europedecides.eu

European Elections 2014, http://www.elections2014.eu/en

European Election Database (EED), http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/

European Parliament: electoral procedures, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ftu/pdf/en/FTU_1.3.4.pdf

European Union, newsroom, http://europa.eu/newsroom/index_en.htm

European Voice, http://www.europeanvoice.com

Government Offices of Sweden, http://www.regeringen.se

Meta Polls, http://metapolls.net

Oscarsson, Henrik, Mätningarnas Mätning, http://www.henrikoscarsson.com/p/matningarnas-matning.html

Political parties and groups

Swedish political parties

o The Social Democratic Party http://www.socialdemokraterna.se o The Moderate Party http://www.moderat.se o The Green Party http://www.mp.se o The Liberal Party http://www.folkpartiet.se o The Centre Party http://www.centerpartiet.se o The Sweden Democrats http://sverigedemokraterna.se o The Left Party http://www.vansterpartiet.se o The Christian Democrats http://www.kristdemokraterna.se o The Pirate Party http://www.piratpartiet.se

Political groups in the Europan Parliament

o EPP Group http://www.eppgroup.eu o S&D http://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/?request_locale=EN o ALDE http://www.alde.eu o Greens/EFA http://www.greens-efa.eu o GUE/NGL http://www.guengl.eu/showPage.php o EFD http://www.efdgroup.eu

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Poll Watch, http://pollwatch2014.eu

Riksdag & Departement, www.rod.se

Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, http://www.skl.se

Sveriges Riksdag, www.riksdagen.se

Sveriges Television, Val 2014, http://www.svt.se/nyheter/val2014/

Swedish Election Authority, Valmyndigheten, www.val.se

Valforskningsprogrammet, University of Gothenburg, http://www.valforskning.pol.gu.se

Copyright & Disclaimer This report has been prepared in good faith on the basis of information available at the date of publication. All information in this report is verified to the best of the author’s and the editor's ability.

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