Sweden's centre-left opposition leads election as far-right slips, exit polls show

JUST IN: Sweden's centre-left opposition leads the general election at 51.3% as the far-right Sweden Democrats slip to 17.2%, exit polls show, dealing a blow to the hard right's bid for power.

Sweden's centre-left is leading tonight at 51.3 percent, and the far right just took a punch.

Exit polls from broadcaster SVT put the bloc backing Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson on top, with the Sweden Democrats slipping to 17.2. Her supporters aren't waiting for official numbers, you can see them here, hearts and signs already out in Stockholm.

A word of caution before anyone pops a cork. Swedish exit polls have burned people before. In 2022 they called it for Andersson too, and Ulf Kristersson ended up prime minister anyway. He's spent four years in office trailing in the polls, and he closed hard in the final weeks.

This vote was billed as a referendum on the Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe, and on whether Europe's far-right wave keeps rolling. Official results land within hours. If these numbers hold, ten point six million Swedes just told that wave to break somewhere else.

This is Dave King, reporting for HIT.