On Saturday, the Social Democrats in Botkyrka will hold an annual meeting and elect a new political leader. The election comes after former chairman Ebba Östlin was ousted in a controversial vote, overtaken by allegations of gang connections and voter fraud.
At the annual meeting, Ebba Östlin is expected to compete against one of his biggest critics, Emanuel Ksiazkiewicz, for the post of chairman of the municipal board. Ksiazkiewicz is one of those who believes that the poking of Östlin was motivated by a lack of leadership, rather than gang criminal interests.
New members were stopped
98 people have been stopped from joining the party, following allegations that people linked to gang crime became members to vote out Ebba Östlin in January. The people who joined the vote that ousted Östlin, about twenty of whom were found to be linked to the shuttered recreation centers that form the basis of the gang allegations, will be allowed to vote in Saturday's election.
The battle for power in botkyrka is important for the Social Democrats even at the national level and may continue long after Saturday's vote, according to SVT's domestic political commentator Mats Knutson.
"No matter who wins, it's going to be a costly victory," he says.