More than 25,000 people standing in church elections

The lists of groups and candidates will now be adopted by the Church of Sweden’s Diocesan Boards. After that, their names will be published on the church election website. At the time of writing, 25,185 candidates have been registered for election to 585 bodies at local, regional and national level.

“The fact that so many people are standing and wish to take responsibility for how the Church of Sweden is governed is a pleasing sign of democratic strength,” says church election leader Nils Warmland. “It also means a wealth of choices for voters, as there will be several nominating groups and candidates to vote for.”

In all, 546 nominating groups have sent in lists of candidates for the church elections. Of these, 12 have submitted lists for the General Synod, the Church of Sweden’s highest decision-making body:

• Alternativ för Sverige
• Arbetarepartiet – Socialdemokraterna
• Borgerlig kristen samverkan
• Centerpartiet
• De Gröna i Svenska kyrkan
• Fria liberaler i Svenska kyrkan
• Frimodig kyrka
• Himmel och Jord
• Partipolitiskt obundna i Svenska kyrkan
• Sverigedemokrater i Svenska kyrkan
• Vänstern i Svenska kyrkan
• Öppen kyrka – en kyrka för alla

The Church of Sweden’s elected representatives play a central part in the Church of Sweden and make decisions that influence the operations and finances of the Church. The decisions encompass everything from church services and the management of church buildings to social work and humanitarian initiatives.

Candidate lists will be published as soon as they have been adopted, preliminarily in June.

Brief facts about the church elections

Entitlement to vote: All members of the Church of Sweden aged 16 or over are entitled to vote in the elections.
Date: The 2025 church elections will take place between 8 and 21 September.
Number of members: The Church of Sweden has around 5.4 million members.
Three elections: The church elections encompass three different elections: to the Parish Assembly, the Diocesan Council and the General Synod.
Percentage threshold: To win a seat in the General Synod, a nominating group must receive at least two percent of the votes.

Church elections 2021

Number of voters: 900,753 (18.4%)
Number of nominating groups: 602
Number of candidates: 27,000

Three elections

Parish Assembly: Governs parish work. (Local election)
Diocesan Council: Governs work in the diocese, with the aim of supporting parish life. (Regional election)
General Synod: The highest decision-making body of the Church of Sweden, deciding on issues of significance to the entire Church of Sweden. (National election)