Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson voted in Röstar on Sunday
On Saturday a poll by Novus suggested that the Sweden Democrats could get 9.6 percent of the vote, up from 5.7 percent in the last election in 2010.
This would make the anti-immigrant party the third-largest in the parliament of a nation that has traditionally taken pride in its welcoming attitude towards foreigners.
"The Sweden Democrats is the only political party that wants to stop immigration," said Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University who has studied the party closely.
"All the other political parties have a united stance, a generous immigration policy. About half the Swedes want to receive fewer refugees."
An electoral gain for the Sweden Democrats and their bespectacled, 35-year-old leader Jimmie Åkesson would confirm a Europe-wide trend of soaring popularity for populist right-wing parties.
This would make the anti-immigrant party the third-largest in the parliament of a nation that has traditionally taken pride in its welcoming attitude towards foreigners.
"The Sweden Democrats is the only political party that wants to stop immigration," said Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University who has studied the party closely.
"All the other political parties have a united stance, a generous immigration policy. About half the Swedes want to receive fewer refugees."
An electoral gain for the Sweden Democrats and their bespectacled, 35-year-old leader Jimmie Åkesson would confirm a Europe-wide trend of soaring popularity for populist right-wing parties.
