IFES
 

Sept. 29, 2019 Held

Austria
Republic of Austria
Election for Nationalrat (Austrian National Council)

Results

Voter Participation


Cast Votes:4,835,469
Valid Votes:4,777,246
Invalid Votes:58,223
Voter
Turnout*

Vote Share by Party:

Party Seats Won Seats Change Votes

Austrian People's Party 71 - 1,789,417

37.50%

Austrian Social Democratic Party 40 - 1,011,868

21.20%

Freedom Party of Austria 31 - 772,666

16.20%

The Greens – The Green Alternative (Die Grünen - Die Grüne Alternative) 26 - 664,055

13.90%

NEOS - The New Austria (NEOS - Das Neue Österreich) 15 - 387,124

8.10%
Election Results Modified: Oct 21, 2019

General Information

At stake in this election:      

  • 183 seats in the National Council (Nationalrat)

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Alexander VAN DER BELLEN
  • Head of Government: Chancellor Brigitte BIERLEIN
  • Assembly: Bicameral parliament consisting of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) with 61 seats[1] and the National Council (Nationalrat) with 183 seats.

Description of electoral system:

  • The President is elected to serve a 6-year term by an absolute majority vote through a two-round system.
  • The Chancellor is appointed by the President.
  • The members of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) are elected and delegated by the diets of the 9 States for the duration of the legislative period of the diet in question. They need not be members of the diet that delegates them but must be eligible for it. The Federal Council’s presidency is rotating on a six-month basis among the 9 States.[2]
  • Members of the National Council (Nationalrat) are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. In case the office of the Federal President is vacant, the three Presidents of the National Council act jointly as Head of State.

Main campaigning groups in the electoral race*:

  • Party: Austrian People's Party / Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP)
    • Leader: Sebastian KURZ
    • Seats won in last election: 62
  • Party: Freedom Party of Austria / Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ)
    • Leader: Norbert HOFER
    • Seats won in last election: 51
  • Party: The New Austria and Liberal Forum / Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS)
    • Leader: Beate MEINL-REISINGER
    • Seats won in last election: 10
  • Party: JETZT / Liste Pilz
    • Leader: Maria STERN**
    • Seats won in last election: 8
  • Party: The Greens – The Green Alternative / Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (GRÜNE)
    • Leader: Werner KOGLER
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Party: Communist Party of Austria Plus (KPÖ+)***
    • Leaders: Mirko MESSNER and Flora PETRIK
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Party: The Change / Der Wandel (WANDL)
    • Leader: Fayad MULLA
    • Seats won in last election: 0

 

* In order to contest the election nationwide, a party (or list) is required to obtain either the signatures of three MPs in parliament or to collect 2,600 valid signatures from eligible voters ahead of the elections. Parties are also able to contest the election in individual states only by collecting a required number of signatures. The state and federal election commissions will then validate the signatures and announce the qualified parties. Five additional parties are on the ballot in individual states only.

** Lead candidate: Peter Pilz

*** KPÖ+ is an electoral alliance between the Communist Party of Austria and the Young Greens. The alliance was formed in May 2017, after the Young Greens were expelled from The Greens.

Population and number of registered voters:

  • Population: 8,793,370 (July 2018 est.)[3]
  • Registered Voters: 6,400,993[4]

Gender Data:

  • Female Population: 4,488,587 (2018 est.)[5]
  • Is Austria a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
  • Has Austria ratified CEDAW: Yes (31 March 1982)
  • Gender Quota: Yes
  • Female Candidates in this election: N/A
  • Number of Female Legislators: 68 (37%)
  • Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking: 20[6]
  • Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low; 12%[7]

Disability Data:

  • Is Austria a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
  • Has Austria ratified CRPD: Yes (26 September 2008)
  • Population with a disability: 1,299,833*

* According to World Health Organization’s 15% estimate

 

[1] As the population of the provinces changes, the number of mandates they are entitled to in the Federal Council also changes. The number of mandates is recalculated every ten years according to the census. Subsequently, the Federal President issues a resolution stipulating how many representatives each province can delegate to the Federal Council. For this reason, the overall number of members in the Federal Council is not predetermined. Currently, the Federal Council numbers 61 members.

[3] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/au.html

[5] Ibid.

Election Modified: Jan 24, 2024

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