Sweden holds election expected to boost anti-immigrant party

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Sweden is holding an election that is expected to boost a populist anti- immigration party that is vowing to crack down on gang violence shaking people’s sense of security. The Sweden Democrats won seats in parliament for the first time in 2010 and have steadily gained more votes in parliament with each election. The party is rising as Sweden’s traditional welcome for refugees has been strained by massive migration in recent years. Polls ahead of Sunday’s election projected that the Sweden Democrats for the first time would become the second-largest party in the parliament. That would put it only behind the center-left Social Democrats of Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.