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Austria votes in general election Slim lead for Austrian opposition
(about 2 hours later)
Voters in Austria have gone to the polls to elect a new parliament. Early election results in Austria suggest a surprise win for the opposition Social Democrats.
Early exit polls suggest the opposition Social Democrats are very narrowly ahead of the centre-right coalition led by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel. With 90% of votes counted, the Social Democrats had almost 36%, with 34% for the centre-right coalition led by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.
Opinion polls before the weekend indicated that Joerg Haider's far-right alliance would struggling to win the 4% of the vote needed to secure seats. Mr Schuessel said it would take "a small miracle" for his party to win.
Analysts say the chancellor's controversial coalition with Mr Haider is almost certain to come to an end. The far right Freedom Party, which ran an anti-immigrant campaign, is in third place with 11%, followed by the Greens at 10%.
More than six million Austrian voters were eligible to vote for the 183-seat parliament. The far-right party founded by Joerg Haider, the Alliance for the Future of Austria, seems just to have made it into parliament with 4% - this, despite its split from the Freedom Party last year.
The latest opinion polls indicated Mr Schuessel's People's Party had the support of 38% of voters - just ahead of the opposition. Before the vote, opinion polls had suggested a narrow victory for Mr Schuessel's coalition.
Tight race Whatever the final results, coalition negotiations are likely to be time-consuming and difficult, reports the BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna.
The far-right Freedom Party - a rival to Mr Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria that has run an anti-immigrant campaign - is running neck-and-neck with Greens for third place, with about 10%. The most obvious alliance is a grand coalition between the People's Party and the Social Democrats, an option preferred by many Austrians.
Alfred Gusenbauer leads the charge for the oppositionTwo other parties - Martin's list and the Communists - are also struggling to score 4%. Otherwise, the conservatives could in theory try to form a coalition with the two far-right parties. But so far, Austria's leading politicians are refusing to commit themselves.
The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says the rare is so close that the shape of a future governing coalition is hard to predict.
Mr Schuessel took office in 2000 in a controversial alliance with the far-right Freedom Party, then led by Mr Haider. He won re-election in 2002.Mr Schuessel took office in 2000 in a controversial alliance with the far-right Freedom Party, then led by Mr Haider. He won re-election in 2002.
The Social Democrats, led by Alfred Gusenbauer, accuse the chancellor of fostering social divisions.The Social Democrats, led by Alfred Gusenbauer, accuse the chancellor of fostering social divisions.
Chancellor Schuessel is thought to favour an alliance with the Greens if his party wins. More than six million Austrian voters were eligible to vote for the 183-seat parliament.
But our correspondent says many Austrians prefer the idea of a grand coalition between the People's Party and the Social Democrats.