Austria presidential election take II is coming up on October 2.
It’s a rematch of the May 22 runoff that pitted anti-immigration candidate Norbert Hofer of the FPÖ party against Alexander Van der Bellen of the Greens.
In Austria, the top two candidates go to round two of the elections if no one wins a clear majority in round one.
Round two of the election was the first since word War II in which both the center-right and center-left candidates were knocked out in the first round.
Hofer vs. Van der Bellen Replay
Election evening, Hofer appeared to have won the election, but after mail-in votes were counted the next day, Van der Bellen was declared the winner.
On 1 July, the results of the second round of voting were annulled after the Constitutional Court of Austria found that electoral rules (as stipulated in federal election law) had been disregarded in 14 out of 20 contested administrative districts (from a total of 117), resulting in over 77,900 absentee votes being improperly counted, however without any indication of votes having been fraudulently manipulated.
Events Favor Hofer
Events in Nice and Turkey should help anti-immigration candidate Norbert Hofer. If so, the election will be another hair-raising event for Brussels.
The role of president is largely symbolic, with real power being held by the chancellor. However, the president can call for new national elections and it’s possible Hofer would do just that.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
