STOCKHOLM, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's parliament on Thursday rejected Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson's bid to form a minority government, as widely expected, extending a period of uncertainty over who will become prime minister after last month's general election.
Four centre-left opposition parties, which have all said they favour Andersson as prime minister, on September 13 won a majority of seats in Sweden's parliament, the Riksdag, but do not agree on who should be part of a new government.
• The opposition in September won 176 seats to 173 for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing bloc. Thursday's ballot was the first of up to four votes before a new election must be called
• "It's been clear to me since the election night that it will take some time and that several ballots would likely be necessary to appoint a prime minister," Andersson told reporters after the vote in parliament
• Only the Social Democrats voted in favour of Andersson, while the other parties voted against
• The parliament speaker is widely expected to next ask Kristersson of the Moderates -- the second-biggest party after the Social Democrats -- to have a go at forming a government
• There is little indication so far that Kristersson would be able to secure a majority, and the task of government formation could thus revert to Andersson at a later time
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik)
