Who can vote?

Voting rights in municipal and regional elections

Municipal elections determine how your municipality is governed.

If you are registered as living in Malmö, you vote in Malmö’s municipal elections. This means you have a say in local issues such as schools, elderly care, streets, parks and how the city develops.

Regional elections determine how your region is governed, including services such as healthcare and public transport.

You have the right to vote in municipal and regional elections if you are at least 18 years old on election day.

You must also be one of the following:

• A Swedish citizen who is registered as living in the municipality or region.
• A citizen of an EU country, Iceland or Norway who is registered as living in the municipality or region.
• A citizen of another country, or stateless. You must have been registered in Sweden for at least three consecutive years before election day and be registered as living in the municipality or region.

Which municipality and region can you vote in?

Your right to vote and the municipality and region where you can vote are based on the information in the Swedish Population Register 30 days before election day.

For the 2026 elections, this date is 14 August.

If you move after 14 August, you will still vote in the municipal and regional elections where you were registered as living on 14 August.

If you are temporarily abroad

The rules above also apply if you are abroad for less than one year and remain registered in the Swedish Population Register. This may be the case if you are studying or working abroad.

Voting rights in parliamentary elections

Parliamentary elections determine how Sweden is governed, including matters such as legislation, education, healthcare and the economy.

You may vote in parliamentary elections if you:

• are at least 18 years old on election day,
• are a Swedish citizen, and
• are or have previously been registered as a resident in Sweden.

This means you can vote even if you do not currently live in Sweden, as long as you are a Swedish citizen and have been registered as a resident in Sweden in the past.

Voting rights for people living abroad (Swedish expatriates)

If you have moved from Sweden and are considered a Swedish expatriate, different rules apply. In that case, you may be eligible to vote in parliamentary elections. For your vote to count, you must be registered on the electoral roll.