The election campaign kicks off for real, MPs are called back to parliament to vote, and the first ever civics test for citizenship. Here's what changes in Sweden in August 2026.

The election campaign kicks off for real, MPs are called back to parliament to vote, and the first ever civics test for citizenship. Here's what changes in Sweden in August 2026. From the start of August, the campaign ahead of the election on September 13th will kick into full gear. While the parties launched their election tours across the country at the end of July, many will still be taking place in the first few weeks of August. Party activists, meanwhile, will be on the streets handing out leaflets and knocking on doors, while party leaders will be all over the media doing interviews and taking part in debates. At the end of the month, the political parties will set up their valstugor election cabins in town squares across the country. From August 20th, Swedish citizens based overseas will be able to vote in a Swedish embassy or consulate, from August 26th, early voting polling stations will open, and from August 30th, citizens overseas will be able to vote by post. MPs are being called back to parliament on August 12th and August 13th for a special summer session to debate and vote through several key laws. This is an extremely unusual move from the government which argues it was necessary to pass key laws in its political programme before the election. The highest profile law up for a vote is the proposal to cut the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and institute a network of youth prisons. The government had planned to set the new age at 13, but withdrew the proposal when it realised that too many MPs for the Liberal Party were likely to vote against it for it to pass. The other key bill in criminal justice is a proposal to bring in a new criminal sentencing system, largely abolishing non-custodial options like probation (skyddstillsyn) and suspended sentences (villkorlig dom), leaving mainly fines and prison.