Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has announced he will resign after his centre-right coalition lost a parliamentary election to a left-leaning opposition led by the Social Democrats.
Mr Reinfeldt told supporters in Stockholm that he will also step down as leader of the conservative Moderate Party next year.
With more than 90% of precincts counted, official preliminary results give the bloc headed by Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven 43.7% of the votes, compared to 39.4% for Mr Reinfeldt’s coalition, which has been in power for the past eight years.