Sweden left heads for election victory, short of majority

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's centre-left opposition headed for an election victory on Sunday but fell short of a parliamentary majority, the first election projection showed, as voters backed increased spending on job schemes, schools and hospitals after eight years of tax cuts and trimmed welfare under the centre-right Alliance.

Three centre-left opposition parties garnered 43.7 percent of the vote, against 39.1 percent for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's government coalition. That means a likely minority government with limited clout to pass bills.