Far-right Austrian party wins first round of presidential elections
Norbert Hofer, candidate of Austria's far-right Freedom Party, sweeps to victory in the first round of the country's presidential elections
The Freedom Party's candidate Norbert Hofer is likely to face a run-off next month
The candidate of Austria’s far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom Party has swept to victory in the first round of the presidential elections, projections show.
Norbert Hofer gathered around 36% the vote, ahead of independent candidates Alexander Van der Bellen and Irmgard Griss – one of whom will likely challenge the far-right candidate in the May 2 run-off.
The Austrian presidency is a largely ceremonial post. However, for the first time since World War Two, the candidates from Austria’s two major political parties failed to make it to the run-off. Preliminary results from official counts show that Social Democrat candidate Rudolf Hundstrofer and People’s Party candidate Andreas Khol only won around 11% of the vote each.
The two parties have governed Austria for decades – either alone or in coalition.
The run-off in May is likely to be closer, with most of those opposed to the Freedom Party expected to throw their weight behind one of the independents.
