Elections come and go every four years, but no lesson seems to be learned from the overall turnout and engagement of immigrants in the electoral process. It is certain that immigrant’s engagement in the electoral process in Sweden is relatively low. 

It seems Swedish political parties are still far from recognizing that the electorate, especially in big cities is becoming more cosmopolitan – and that this trend will continue stretching. And the extent to which this reality is taken into consideration by political parties is uneven. This explains why all political parties should do more to promote equality, diversity, and inclusiveness in their party structures. 

Whether it means participating as registered party members, volunteering in party activities, voting, or having a position of responsibility, immigrants’ participation is extremely low. This is a paradox because Sweden is considered a liberal society where there is freedom of association. What can be the problem?

Whether electoral participation apathy from the side of immigrants is wittingly or unwittingly, there is obviously a growing mistrust emanating from the immigrant's communities about Swedish politics. This mistrust or ignorance is generating resistance against immigrants’ participation in mainstream politics.

It could be that the dampened enthusiasm in the Swedish electoral process is because of the virtual absence of immigrants at all levels of the political system. Or the lack of incorporation of electoral education into the immigrant integration programs at the early stages of the immigrant integration process perpetuating electoral ignorance in immigrant communities.

Either way, and as pointed out in Leila Nezirevic article “why immigrants are turning their backs away from mainstream political parties in Sweden”, Kamali, a sociologist at Mid Sweden University asserts that from his interviews with immigrants’, he was told by immigrants that every four years political parties come to them to ask for their votes, but when the elections are over, nothing is done to make immigrants situation better.  

These sentiments are supported by an article in the ‘Local Newspaper’ written by Catherine Edwards on 31 August 2018. In the article “How Sweden Hopes to Get More Foreign-born Residents Voting” Catherine Edward's analysis shows that political participation within the immigrants’ communities is still a far cry in Swedish politics. The article shows that among native Swedes, the voting rate in 2014 was close to 90 percent, while among foreign-born residents it was only 72 percent. Within this 72 percent, there is still differences in voting rate among the different immigrant groups given that immigrants in Sweden are a diverse group who come from very different countries and for very different reasons. For example, based on Statistics Sweden, in the 2014 election only 20 percent of African men and 17 percent of African women voted. 

Electoral politics is not static, it changes with time and space depending on the changing configuration of the society and the electorate. It is certain that the cosmopolitanism of Sweden's electorate is on the rise. The growing cosmopolitanism of Sweden in general and its metropolis needs to be taken seriously if political parties expect a majority in any election. This is not just about going out to beg for immigrants' votes during elections, it’s about looking for sustainable ways to incorporate immigrants in all the political processes and structures of the parties. Representation matters. Sweden, as any other European country, has become ethnically diverse and more cosmopolitan, especially in major cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö – this trend will presumably accelerate in the years to come. This is good for parties that promote representation, cultural diversity, and inclusiveness.