Austria’s Constitutional Court annulled the 2016 presidential run-off election in which Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly defeated Norbert Hofer.
The decision was announced on July 22 by Gerhard Holzinger, head of Austria’s Constitutional Court saying
The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the 22 May election… has been upheld.
The decision I am announcing today has no winner and no loser, it has only one aim: to strengthen trust in the rule of law and democracy.
Even in a stable democracy only the total adherence to electoral standards secures the citizens’ trust in our democracy
After voting on April 24, Nobert Hofer of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) received the most votes with Austrian Greens member Alexander Van der Bellen coming in second.
Since no candidate received a majority of the votes, the top 2 candidates faced off in a run-off that Van der Bellen won against Hofer.
The Freedom party contested the outcome of May’s vote and won after claiming to have detected formal irregularities in 94 out of 117 constituencies.
According to Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, new elections are expected to be held on either September 25 or October 2.
President Heinz Fischer is scheduled to step down on July 8, and his role will be taken over by the three presidents of Austria’s parliament – Doris Bures (Social Democratic Party of Austria), Karlheinz Kopf (ÖVP), and Norbert Hofer.
