2005 Viennese state election

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2005 Viennese state election
Flag of Wien (state).svg
  2001 23 October 2005 2010  

All 100 seats in the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna
51 seats needed for a majority
All 14 seats in the state government
Turnout694,515 (60.8%)
Decrease2.svg 5.8%
 First partySecond party
  Wahlabend (2898902944).jpg JohannesHahnPortrait.jpg
Leader Michael Häupl Johannes Hahn
Party SPÖ ÖVP
Last election52 seats, 46.9%16 seats, 16.4%
Seats won5518
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 3Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote333,611127,531
Percentage49.1%18.8%
SwingIncrease2.svg 2.2%Increase2.svg 2.4%

 Third partyFourth party
  Maria Vassilakou 03.jpg HEINZ CHRISTIAN STRACHE.jpg
Leader Maria Vassilakou Heinz-Christian Strache
Party Greens FPÖ
Last election11 seats, 12.4%21 seats, 20.2%
Seats won1413
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 3Decrease2.svg 8
Popular vote99,432100,780
Percentage14.6%14.8%
SwingIncrease2.svg 2.2%Decrease2.svg 5.3%

Mayor and Governor before election

Michael Häupl
SPÖ

Elected Mayor and Governor

Michael Häupl
SPÖ

The 2005 Viennese state election was held on 23 October 2005 to elect the members of the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna.

Contents

The governing Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) led by Mayor and Governor Michael Häupl won a landslide victory, increasing its absolute majority by an additional three seats and winning just under half of the vote. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) suffered substantial losses, falling from second to fourth place. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) returned to second place for the first time since 1991. The Greens achieved their best-ever result, winning 14.6% of votes and becoming the third largest party in the Gemeinderat and Landtag. To date this is the last election any party won a majority in the Landtag.

Background

The Viennese constitution mandates that cabinet positions in the city government (city councillors, German : Stadtsräten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. The number of city councillors is voted upon by the Landtag after each election, and may legally vary between nine and fifteen. City councillors are divided into two groups – "senior" councillors, who hold a cabinet portfolio, and "non-executive" councillors who do not. Non-executive councillors may vote in cabinet meetings, but do not otherwise hold any government responsibility. In practice, parties seek to form a coalition which holds a majority in both the Landtag and city government. City councillors bound to the coalition become senior councillors, while the opposition are relegated to non-executive status.

In the 2001 state election, the SPÖ regained the absolute majority it had lost in 1996. The FPÖ suffered substantial losses, but remained the second largest party with 20% of the vote. The Greens also made gains, with the Liberal Forum lost its seats. The SPÖ won nine city councillors and formed government alone.

Electoral system

The 100 seats of the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between eighteen multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats. [1]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

NameIdeologyLeader2001 result
Votes (%)SeatsCouncillors
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy Michael Häupl 46.9%
52 / 100
9 / 15
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Heinz-Christian Strache 20.2%
21 / 100
3 / 15
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy Johannes Hahn 16.4%
16 / 100
2 / 15
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics Maria Vassilakou 12.4%
11 / 100
1 / 15

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Results

2005 Viennese Landtag.svg
PartyVotes %+/−Seats+/−Coun.+/−
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)333,61149.09+2.1855+39±0
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)127,53118.77+2.3818+22±0
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE)99,43214.63+2.1814+32+1
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)100,78014.83–5.3313–81–2
Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ)9,9691.47+0.830±00±0
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ)7,8241.15New0New0New
Vienna Forum (WIF)2940.04New0New0New
Socialist Left Party (SLP)1240.02+0.010±00±0
Invalid/blank votes14,950
Total694,515100100014–1
Registered voters/turnout1,142,12660.81–5.77
Source: Viennese Government
Popular vote
SPÖ
49.09%
ÖVP
18.77%
FPÖ
14.83%
GRÜNE
14.63%
Other
2.68%
Gemeinderat and Landtag seats
SPÖ
55.00%
ÖVP
18.00%
GRÜNE
14.00%
FPÖ
13.00%

Results by constituency

Constituency SPÖ ÖVP Grüne FPÖ OthersTotal
seats
Turnout
 %S %S %S %S %
Centre37.9325.0223.6210.62.9759.6
Inner West34.0224.8129.329.03.0561.2
Leopoldstadt 49.9215.117.8114.13.0359.0
Landstraße 43.3221.9119.3112.63.0459.9
Favoriten 57.7612.118.119.622.5959.5
Simmering 60.8310.67.418.812.4460.0
Meidling 52.3316.012.516.52.7359.2
Hietzing 36.6134.7115.611.02.1266.5
Penzing 45.8221.6115.214.82.6361.9
Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus 51.0213.816.415.92.9255.5
Ottakring 51.5315.814.415.82.5359.9
Hernals 42.5122.417.714.92.5160.2
Währing 32.4133.0122.010.32.2263.1
Döbling 38.1133.5114.811.72.0263.7
Brigittenau 56.7212.111.716.82.8258.1
Floridsdorf 57.8613.119.117.013.1861.4
Donaustadt 57.8613.119.9116.412.9961.8
Liesing 51.4319.5112.114.512.5564.9
Remaining seats667726
Total49.15518.81814.61414.8132.710060.8
Source: Viennese Government

References

  1. "RIS - Viennese Gemeinderat election act 1996". Viennese Government.