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| Austria election: far-right candidate and rival tied at 50% in exit poll | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Austria’s presidential elections have revealed a deeply divided country, with the rightwing populist Norbert Hofer in the tightest possible run-off with the former Green politician Alexander Van der Bellen, who is running as an independent. | |
| Exit polls by the broadcaster ORF show both Hofer and Van der Bellen on 50%, with 98% of votes counted. | |
| First results had shown a slender lead for the Freedom party (FPÖ) politician Hofer, a win for whom would mean the election of the European Union’s first far-right head of state. | |
| However, the economist academic Van der Bellen performed strongly in cities across the country, gaining 62% of the vote in Graz and 56% in Salzburg. | |
| Postal ballots, accounting for 14% of eligible voters, will only be tallied on Monday. Fifty percent and one vote would suffice to hand the presidency to one of the two candidates. | |
| Voter turnout was 72.4%, up four percentage points on the first round of the presidential election in April. | Voter turnout was 72.4%, up four percentage points on the first round of the presidential election in April. |
| Hofer cast his vote in his home town of Pinkafeld in the Burgenland region, saying he was hoping to get between 48% and 52% of the vote. | Hofer cast his vote in his home town of Pinkafeld in the Burgenland region, saying he was hoping to get between 48% and 52% of the vote. |
| Asked about his role in helping to take the FPÖ in a more nationalist direction, Hofer said: “I have to work, and then it will be OK. I am not a dangerous person.” In the run-up to the elections, questions were raised about Hofer’s background in the far-right fraternity culture and proximity to people advocating a Greater Germany. | Asked about his role in helping to take the FPÖ in a more nationalist direction, Hofer said: “I have to work, and then it will be OK. I am not a dangerous person.” In the run-up to the elections, questions were raised about Hofer’s background in the far-right fraternity culture and proximity to people advocating a Greater Germany. |
| During a fraught election campaign that has divided the country, 45-year-old Hofer and 72-year-old Van der Bellen have clashed on a series of key issues, including the refugee crisis and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement (TTIP) between the European Union and America. | During a fraught election campaign that has divided the country, 45-year-old Hofer and 72-year-old Van der Bellen have clashed on a series of key issues, including the refugee crisis and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement (TTIP) between the European Union and America. |
| Supporters from both camps celebrated initial results. The FPÖ’s leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, claimed to have seen exit poll figures indicating a significantly higher lead for his candidate, accusing the public broadcaster ORF of deliberately opting for a tighter poll. | Supporters from both camps celebrated initial results. The FPÖ’s leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, claimed to have seen exit poll figures indicating a significantly higher lead for his candidate, accusing the public broadcaster ORF of deliberately opting for a tighter poll. |
| Van der Bellen said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome of the vote. Commentators say it is unlikely either of the two candidates will be able to celebrate a victory on Sunday night. | |
| While the Austrian presidency has been interpreted mainly as a ceremonial role by the centrist politicians who have held the post in the past, there are fears that Hofer could use the instruments of the president’s office to dissolve the government and usher in a chancellor from his own party, which is currently leading in the polls. | While the Austrian presidency has been interpreted mainly as a ceremonial role by the centrist politicians who have held the post in the past, there are fears that Hofer could use the instruments of the president’s office to dissolve the government and usher in a chancellor from his own party, which is currently leading in the polls. |
| Some constitutional experts question whether a president would be able to dissolve the government without presenting a plausible reason to do so. | Some constitutional experts question whether a president would be able to dissolve the government without presenting a plausible reason to do so. |
| Poor results in the first election round for the two governing parties, the centre-left SPÖ and the centre-right ÖVP, triggered the resignation of the social democrat chancellor Werner Faymann, who has been replaced by Christian Kern, previously the head of Austria’s federal railway company. | |
| Austria is scheduled to hold its next federal election by September 2018. |