84 Kurdish Candidates in Sweden’s 2026 Election; Broad Participation in Parliament, Regional and Municipal Councils

In Sweden, 84 Kurdish candidates are competing through different political parties for seats in parliament, regional councils and municipal councils; a participation that extends from Stockholm to Gothenburg, Örebro, Västmanland, Jönköping and a number of other Swedish cities and regions.

The election will be held on Sunday, 13 September 2026, and on the same day the people of Sweden will elect their representatives at three different levels of government: the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), Regional Councils (Region), and Municipal Councils (Kommun). The Swedish Parliament has 349 seats, and more than eight million people are eligible to vote in the parliamentary election.

Of the 84 Kurdish candidates, 52 are men and 32 are women. The candidates are distributed among different political parties, with a large proportion competing on Social Democratic lists; Kurdish candidates are also participating through the Green Party, the Liberals, the Centre Party, the Moderates and other parties.

Some of the candidates are competing at only one electoral level, while others are candidates at two or more levels at the same time; as a result, the names of some candidates appear more than once on parliamentary, regional and municipal lists.

Kurdish Candidates for the Swedish Parliament

At the national parliamentary level, a number of well-known politicians, as well as new Kurdish faces, are competing in different constituencies across Sweden for seats in the Riksdag.

The candidates are:

Bawer Kevir, Dina Ghafour, Erivan Waysi, Farat Candemir, Hanna Amin Andersson, Kadir Kasirga, Kijan Karim, Lawen Redar, Missan Amin Latif, Renas Mustafa, Sairan Askari, Shadiye Heydari, Shahla Ojagh, Talla Alkurdi, Ali Alnassar, Agip Yalibun, Edan Karkuk, Hamar Asadi, Huseryn Alpergin, Najib Alacaab, Poya Akbina, Safiya Altundag, Serim Altunag, Gurgin Bakircioglu, Sarwan Bozarslan, Shwan Kareem, Yousuf Hassan, Abdulwahab Tyrois and Lanja Sharif.

Among these candidates, Lawen Redar and Kadir Kasirga are well-known figures in Swedish politics and have previously served as members of parliament. In Stockholm, the names of Talla Alkurdi, Bawer Kevir, Sarwan Bozarslan, Shwan Kareem and a number of other Kurdish candidates also appear.

In Värmland, Erivan Waysi is a parliamentary candidate; in Göteborg, Renas Mustafa and Shadiye Heydari are on the electoral lists; in Örebro, Sairan Askari and Shahla Ojagh are competing, while Lanja Sharif is a Riksdag candidate in Jönköping.

In addition, Gurgin Bakircioglu, Sarwan Bozarslan and Shwan Kareem are among the Kurdish candidates participating in the election through the Green Party. Gurgin Bakircioglu lives in Stockholm and, in his election profile, has spoken openly about his Kurdish background and the influence of Kurdish political figures.

Kurdish Candidates for Regional Councils

At the Region level, Kurdish candidates are competing for seats in institutions responsible for a large share of healthcare, hospitals, public transport and regional services.

The Kurdish candidates at this level are:

Ayoub Marabi, Bawer Kevir, Farhan Mohammed, Hewa Cardot, Mousa Basrawi, Nesrin Lewin, Nouroz Wanli, Ranjdar Faly, Renas Mustafa, Sairan Askari, Shadiye Heydari, Shahla Ojagh, Shilan Majid, Soraya Zarza Lundberg, Tara Rasul, Tara Twana, Leila Shafie, Hossein Azizi and Noah Rafat.

In Region Stockholm, the names Bawer Kevir, Ranjdar Faly, Tara Rasul and Tara Twana appear among the Kurdish candidates. In Örebro, Farhan Mohammed and Sairan Askari are competing, while in Västra Götaland and the Göteborg area, Ayoub Marabi, Hewa Cardot, Shadiye Heydari, Shilan Majid and Soraya Zarza Lundberg are on the electoral lists.

Kurdish Candidates for Municipal Councils

The highest level of participation by Kurdish candidates can be seen in the municipal elections, where decisions are directly connected to schools, housing, social services, city administration and many aspects of citizens’ daily lives.

Among the Kurdish candidates for municipal councils are the following:

Abo Maradi, Aree Said Gali, Awen Wali, Awat Rascal, Aza Cheragwang, Ban Najjar, Barik Kamal, Bengi Aslan, Dara Seed, Dekan Latif, Diana Ghafour, Diyar Cicek, Juwanro Haddad, Kijan Karim, Kochar Walid, Majid Ibrahim Ibrahim, Mathias Mardan, Mousa Basrawi, Missan Amin Latif, Nyan Jamal, Omar Bilali, Orhan Demir, Renas Mustafa, Roshana Yigit, Sairan Askari, Saman Rashid, Serkan Kine, Siler Bradesi, Gurgin Kasemag, Hamar Asadi, Huseryn Alpergin, Makhon Zawa, Mubin Alacaab, Poya Akbina, Sarwan Bozarslan, Shwan Kareem, Zirek Kany, Abo Dakheel, Yousuf Hassan, Abdulwahab Tyrois, Gulan Azizi, Leila Shafie, Ronya Safin, Sarbast Fatah, Sukri Damir, Hossein Azizi and Noah Rafat.

This list shows the geographical spread of Kurdish political participation in Sweden. The candidates are not concentrated only in major cities such as Stockholm and Gothenburg, but also appear on party lists in many other cities and towns.

The participation of 84 Kurdish candidates in this election is not politically uniform. The candidates come from different parties and compete with different political programmes and positions. Most are on Social Democratic lists, but Kurdish figures are also present in the Green Party, the Liberals, the Centre Party and other political currents.

This distribution shows that Kurdish political participation in Sweden is not limited to one particular party or a single political orientation. The candidates work within different parties according to their programmes, political ideas and views, and the domestic issues of Sweden.

At the same time, among the 84 candidates there are both politicians with parliamentary experience and new faces. Some have worked for years in municipal and regional councils, while others are seeking in this election to move to a higher level of political decision-making.

Under Sweden’s electoral system, voters can, in addition to choosing a party, cast a personal vote for a specific candidate. This provides an opportunity for candidates who are not at the top of their party lists but have strong personal support among voters.

Accordingly, for a number of Kurdish candidates, encouraging voters to mark the candidate’s name can have a direct impact on their electoral prospects.

When the polling stations open on the morning of 13 September, 84 Kurdish candidates across Sweden will be awaiting the voters’ decision. Some are competing for seats in the national parliament, some for regional councils, and a large number for municipal councils.

The election results will determine how many of these candidates can enter decision-making institutions and represent their voters. Even before the results are announced, however, the presence of 84 Kurdish candidates across a wide political and geographical area of Sweden clearly demonstrates the level of political participation among Kurds in the country.

Wishing success to the Kurdish nationalist candidates