How Sweden fills its 349 seats: fixed constituency seats, adjustment seats and a four per cent threshold

Background

Sweden's unresolved government formation after its latest general election turns on how the chamber is composed, so the rules are worth fixing. There are 349 seats in the Riksdag which are distributed following the parliamentary elections. The 349 seats consist of 310 fixed constituency seats and 39 adjustment seats. To share in the distribution a particular party must receive at least four per cent of the votes. Elections to the Riksdag are held every four years, on the second Sunday in September. The adjustment seats exist so that the national result is proportional even though votes are counted in constituencies.