Presidential elections were held in Austria on 24 April 2016, with a second round run-off on 22 May 2016.[1] However, the results of the second round were annulled and a re-vote took place on 4 December 2016.[2][3]
Incumbent President Heinz Fischer had served two terms and was not eligible to be elected for a third successive term. In the first round of the election, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) historically received the most votes. Alexander Van der Bellen, a member of the Austrian Greens contesting as an independent, placed second, also a historic success for a member of the Greens. The candidates of the two governing parties, the Social Democratic and Austrian People's parties, placed fourth and fifth respectively, behind independent Irmgard Griss in third place, which led to a government crisis and the resignation of Chancellor Werner Faymann. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, Hofer and Van der Bellen went head-to-head in the second round in May. This was the first time since the Second World War that an Austrian president had not been backed by either the People's or the Social Democratic party.[4] During the run-off, Van der Bellen defeated Hofer on 23 May 2016 after the postal ballots had been counted.[5]
On 1 July, the results of the second round of voting were annulled after the results in 20 of the 117 administrative districts were challenged, and the Constitutional Court of Austria found that Austrian electoral law had been disregarded in 14 of them. The Court found that over 77,900 absentee votes were improperly counted too early, however without any indication of votes having been fraudulently manipulated.[6] The second round re-vote was planned on 2 October, but was postponed to 4 December 2016.[2][3]
Van der Bellen ultimately won the second round re-vote with 53.8% of the vote and a voter turnout of 74.2%.[7] Hofer conceded the race to Van der Bellen when the result had become apparent shortly after polls closed.[8] Van der Bellen was sworn in as the twelfth president of Austria on 26 January 2017.[9]
Electoral system
The president of Austria is directly elected by universal adult suffrage once every six years. The election is held under a two-round system; if no candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast in the first round, then a second ballot occurs in which only those two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round may stand. The constitution grants the president the power to appoint the chancellor and, by extension, federal cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices, military officers, and most major bureaucrats. The president may dissolve the National Council. In practice, however, the president acts as a figurehead.
Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter declined to stand on 26 December 2015.[13] On 7 January 2016, ÖVP leader Reinhold Mitterlehner announced that Erwin Pröll, the Landeshauptmann of Lower Austria, would not be running.[14]Josef Pühringer, Landeshauptmann of Upper Austria declined to stand on 8 January 2016,[citation needed] as did former European Commissioner Franz Fischler and Member of the European Parliament Othmar Karas. President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Leitl only said he would not comment before the announcement by the party leadership on 10 January 2016.[15] Controversial former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel was briefly considered as a candidate, but he also declined.[16] Other names mentioned were former Science Minister and university professor Karlheinz Töchterle[de], former Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and former Raiffeisen Zentralbank manager Christian Konrad[de].[17][18][19] On 10 January 2016, former first president of the National Council Andreas Khol was announced as the ÖVP's candidate.[20]
Norbert Hofer, who serves as the Third President of the National Council, had been considered the most likely Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) candidate. On 28 December 2015 he said that he considered himself too young for the office and that he would prefer his party to pick someone else as its candidate.[21] Other possible candidates included President of the Austrian Court of Audit Josef Moser, former Mayor of Vienna's 1st district Ursula Stenzel,[22] ombudsman Peter Fichtenbauer[23] and possibly party leader Heinz-Christian Strache himself.[24] As of 11 January 2016, Fichtenbauer, Moser and Stenzel continued to be the most likely candidates.[25] Strache announced on 13 January 2016 that he would not be running himself, and that it was still open whether the FPÖ would nominate anyone at all.[26] In mid-January, Vienna Vice-Mayor Johann Gudenus and former FPÖ leader and former Vice-Chancellor Norbert Steger were also mentioned as possible candidates.[27] On 19 January 2016, author and Middle East/migration pundit Karin Kneissl was mentioned as being recruited by the FPÖ to run,[28] which she quickly declined.[29]
On 20 January 2016, media reported that Gudenus had been internally selected as the FPÖ's candidate;[30] on 26 January 2016, reports claimed Stenzel would be announced on 28 January 2016 as the FPÖ's candidate.[31] Amid strong FPÖ-internal dissent, there were rumours the party leadership had been forced to reconsider, and that Hofer was now the most likely option, after all,[32] with Gudenus also still in play.[33] Commentators opined that the backtracking was a notable defeat for Strache.[34][35] Hofer was announced as the FPÖ's candidate on 28 January 2016.[36]
In early January 2016, it was announced that former Greens party leader Alexander Van der Bellen would not be running as the official Greens' candidate, as that would have required a party convention decision; this was also framed as an attempt to put personality above party politics in the election.[37] Van der Bellen announced his candidacy on 8 January 2016 in a YouTube video.[38]NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum leader Strolz stated that they would consider giving him the same support as Griss, depending on the same kind of hearing she went through.[39]
Independent candidate Irmgard Griss, a former Supreme Court of Justice judge and its president, declared her candidacy on 17 December 2015. She presented her candidacy to the Freedom Party of Austria and NEOS, but both declined to endorse her.[40] NEOS said they would support Griss and any other independent candidates indirectly, and voiced their concerns over the strong partisan politicization of the presidential office and the election campaign.[41] NEOS leader Matthias Strolz stated on 9 February 2016 that NEOS might also support Van der Bellen, voicing his preference for a run-off election between Griss and Van der Bellen.[42]
Richard Lugner, society figure, businessman and candidate for president in 1998, was reported to be considering running again,[43] and stated on 8 February 2016 that he would very likely be running.[44] He announced his candidacy on 10 February 2016, citing a poll carried out for him by the Humaninstitut which showed him on 10% (behind Van der Bellen on 27%, Hundstorfer on 18%, Hofer on 17%, Griss at 15% and Khol on 13%).[45]
At the half-way point for collecting signatures, it appeared that only the five major candidates and possibly Lugner and Awadalla had a chance of making the ballot.[59]
Signatures
Griss was the first candidate to submit the necessary number of signatures (6,000) at the Interior Ministry, submitting 7,851 on 8 March 2016.[60] By 11 March 2016, she had collected over 10,000 signatures.[61] By 16 March 2016, two days before the deadline, the five main candidates had submitted their signatures, with Awadalla still having outside chances to make it and Lugner likely to fall short.[62]
Surprising many observers, Marschall announced on 17 March 2016 that he had gathered the required number of signatures,[63] though it was unclear whether he would be using the grace period of three days to reach the required number; Lugner also submitted his bid, but falling short of the required signatures, promising to submit the remaining number within the grace period. Besides these two, only the five main candidates submitted successful bids.[64] On 19 March 2016, it was announced that the five main candidates had submitted the necessary number of signatures, and that neither Lugner nor Marschall had (so far).[65] As expected by many analysts, Lugner claimed on 22 March 2016 to have made up the deficit, with Marschall clearly failing,[66] having gathered only 1,150 signatures.[67]
Voter statistics
Official ballot paper for the first round of voting
According to the federal election commission, 6,382,507 Austrian citizens aged 16 or over are eligible to vote in the presidential election. Compared with the 2010 presidential election, the number of eligible voters increased by 26,707 – or 0.4%. There are 3,301,628 women and 3,080,879 men eligible to vote. 42,830 Austrians living abroad are also included in these numbers as being eligible to vote.[68] In the first round of voting, 641,975 absentee ballots were issued – up from 373,902 in 2010. For the runoff, a record number of 885,437 absentee ballots were issued.[69][70]
Constitutional Court hearings on the FPÖ's election challenge (20–23 June)
Hofer, the Freedom Party candidate, led in the first round of the election on 24 April with an unexpectedly strong 35 percent of the vote.[71] Van der Bellen came second with 21 percent, and since Hofer failed to gain an absolute majority the election proceeded to a run-off vote between the two, scheduled for 22 May. Independent Irmgard Griss came third with 19 percent, while Khol and Hundstorfer, representing the two governing parties, polled 11 percent each. Johannes Pollak described the result as a "political earthquake"[72] and the Financial Times reported an "historic upset".[71][need quotation to verify]
The provisional result on 22 May gave Hofer 51.9% of the votes, not counting the absentee ballots, which were expected[by whom?] to favour Van der Bellen. Hence the outcome remained unclear pending the counting of absentee ballots on Monday 23 May.[73][74] The final result, including absentee ballots, gave Van der Bellen 50.3%. He was to succeed Heinz Fischer as president on 8 July 2016.[75] This was the first time a phenomenon akin to blue shift was widely discussed publicly in an Austrian election.
The Kronen Zeitung reported some election irregularities, such as a 146.9% turnout in Waidhofen an der Ybbs and another impossible result in Linz.[76] According to the head of the Interior Ministry's election department, Robert Stein, the results (which were simply a reporting error) were to be corrected in the official results.[76] FPÖ officials highlighted the discrepancies, but Hofer dismissed any suggestion of electoral fraud.[77]
On 8 June the FPÖ announced that they would contest the outcome in the Constitutional Court. Between 20 and 23 June the Constitutional Court questioned some 90 witnesses, mostly election officials from district election commissions.[78] A ruling by the Constitutional Court was expected before 8 July, determining whether to organize a repeat vote in certain regions. Because of the complexity of the FPÖ's lawsuit, it also had been possible that ruling could come after 8 July. As a consequence, Alexander Van der Bellen's inauguration was to be postponed until a later date.[79]
On 1 July the Constitutional Court declared the second round of the election annulled, requiring a repeat of the election.[80] The three presidents of the National Council (Doris Bures – SPÖ, Karlheinz Kopf – ÖVP, Norbert Hofer – FPÖ) were designated to collectively serve as acting presidents of Austria, starting after President Heinz Fischer's term ended on 8 July and until the inauguration of the new president.[79]
On 8 June, FPÖ chairman Heinz-Christian Strache brought a 152-page appeal to the Constitutional Court.[83] Strache claimed that more than 30,000 votes had been prematurely tallied, more than 50,000 votes had been counted by unauthorized personnel, and over 500,000 ballots were invalid.[84] Other charges included minors and non-citizens having been allowed to vote.[85] The Austrian Interior Ministry acknowledged some irregularities but said that the number of votes affected was not enough to overturn the results. "There was sloppiness", said Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka.[86]
Counsel for Van der Bellen argued that the irregularities would have had only an "insignificant" impact on results, while lawyers for the FPÖ said they could have affected the results of the election.[87] But on 1 July, since Hofer had lost to Van der Bellen by 30,863 votes and the Court found that more than twice that number (77,926[87]) had been affected by breaches of the electoral code,[86] The Constitutional Court ordered that the second round be held again.[85] Noting the irregularities, the Court said in a statement: "It is completely clear to the Constitutional Court that laws regulating an election must be rigorously applied ... This must rule out abuse and manipulations."[88]
Before the Court's ruling, Van der Bellen was scheduled to be sworn in as president on 9 July. Elections were set for 2 October 2016.[89] Until then, outgoing Austrian president Heinz Fischer would be replaced on an interim basis by the three presidents of the National Council, a "National President Council", of which Hofer is the third member.[87] Van der Bellen said that Austrians were "shocked and unsettled" by the Court's ruling, but that he expected to win a second time.[88]
On 12 September the Federal Minister of the Interior, Wolfgang Sobotka, announced that due to faulty glue in the voting envelopes, the rerun of the second round was postponed until 4 December 2016.[3][90] He also said that Austrian law allowed the election to be postponed only in case of death of a candidate, therefore the decision had to be made by parliament.[91] The delay also allowed for some young Austrians who turned 16 after May to vote in the rerun.[90] FPÖ Chairman Heinz-Christian Strache criticized postponing the elections, claiming it was done by political opponents because Hofer was doing well in the polls.[92]
Alexander Van der Bellen is the current president of Austria. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, as the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party.
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of Civil Service and Sports from January 2018 to May 2019 and chairman of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) from April 2005 to May 2019. He previously served as a member of the National Council from October 2006 until December 2017 and as a member of the municipal council and state legislature of Vienna (2001–2006).
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 28 September 2008 to elect the 24th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called after Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) withdrew from the ruling grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in July. Due to dissatisfaction with the governing parties, the opposition and minor parties were expected to make significant gains. Opinion polling indicated that up to seven parties could potentially win seats.
Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2010, the twelfth election of an Austrian head of state since 1951. The candidates were President Heinz Fischer, Barbara Rosenkranz (FPÖ) and Rudolf Gehring (CPÖ). Heinz Fischer won with just under 80% of the valid votes. Voter turnout was a historic low of 54%.
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties expected to be in the National Council after the election. The losses for the government parties resulted in strong gains for the far right, while neither the Liberal Forum nor the Citizens' Forum Austria gained as much as 2% of the vote, defying earlier expectations. The result of the election was seen as strong for the far-right and in support of Eurosceptics.
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties expected to be in the National Council after the election. The losses for the government parties resulted in strong gains for the far right, while neither the Liberal Forum nor the Citizens' Forum Austria gained as much as 2% of the vote, defying earlier expectations. The result of the election was seen as strong for the far-right and in support of Eurosceptics.
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties expected to be in the National Council after the election. The losses for the government parties resulted in strong gains for the far right, while neither the Liberal Forum nor the Citizens' Forum Austria gained as much as 2% of the vote, defying earlier expectations. The result of the election was seen as strong for the far-right and in support of Eurosceptics.
NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum is a liberal political party in Austria. It was founded as NEOS – The New Austria in 2012. In 2014, NEOS merged with Liberal Forum and adopted its current name.
Sebastian Kurz is an Austrian former politician who served twice as the chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021. On 23 February 2024, Kurz received an eight-month suspended sentence after being convicted of perjury by a court in Vienna over his involvement in a parliamentary inquiry.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 15 October 2017 to elect the 26th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called when the coalition government between the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) was dissolved in May by the latter party's new leader Sebastian Kurz.
Norbert Gerwald Hofer is an Austrian politician who served as Leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) from June 2019 to June 2021. He previously was Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology from 2017 to 2019 under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Irmgard Griss, also known as Irmgard Griss-Reiterer, is an Austrian politician, lawyer and judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 2007 to 2011. She registered as an independent candidate at the 2016 presidential election and came in third position.
Herbert Kickl is an Austrian politician who has been leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously served as Minister of the Interior from 2017 to 2019 and general-secretary of the FPÖ from 2005 to 2018.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2019 to elect the 27th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called in the wake of the Ibiza affair in May, which caused the resignation of Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and the collapse of the governing coalition of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The government subsequently lost a motion of no confidence in parliament, before ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was replaced by non-partisan Brigitte Bierlein on an interim basis.
The Ibiza affair, also known as Ibiza-gate, was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache, the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), as well as Johann Gudenus, formerly a deputy leader of the Freedom Party.
The Bierlein government was the 32nd Government of Austria following the collapse of the First Kurz government headed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in the aftermath of the Ibiza affair. Sworn in on 3 June 2019, the Bierlein government was the first purely technocratic government in Austrian history, first interim government after a successful motion of no confidence in Parliament and first government headed by a female chancellor. As head of government, Brigitte Bierlein was assisted by Clemens Jabloner as vice-chancellor.
The Beer Party is an Austrian satirical political party. Founded in 2014, it was originally known as the Beer Party of Austria and used the corresponding abbreviation BPÖ until its renaming in 2020. The party's activity is confined to Vienna, where BIER first appeared on ballots in the 2019 Austrian legislative election and appeared again in the 2020 Viennese state election. As of 2020, it has been unable to amass the votes required for representation in the National Council, Federal Council, or the Landtage, claiming 0.6% of Viennese votes in 2019 and 1.8% in 2020. However, the party was able to win mandates in 11 of Vienna's districts. The party is organized purely at the federal level without state parties.
Presidential elections were held in Austria on 9 October 2022. Incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen from the Greens was eligible for one more term and ran for re-election. About 6.36 million voting-age citizens were eligible to vote.
The Social Austria of the Future is a small Austrian party that ran for the first time in the 2020 Viennese state and municipal elections.
Gerald Grosz is an Austrian author, commentator, and politician. Formerly a member of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), he joined the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) in 2005 and was elected to the National Council in the 2008 Austrian legislative election. He left office in 2013. The same year, he was elected federal chairman of the BZÖ, serving until 2015. Grosz was an independent candidate for President of Austria in the 2022 election.
↑ "Austrian far-right party's triumph in presidential poll could spell turmoil". The Guardian. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016. Johannes Pollak, a political scientist at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, said Van der Bellen was a marginal favourite to win. 'The established parties will do their best to stop a rightwing populist from coming to power. But after this political earthquake, it is hard to make a certain prognosis.'
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