VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s liberal president was on course to win a second six-year term outright Sunday, avoiding a runoff vote after a campaign in which he portrayed himself as the stable option in uncertain times. Preliminary results gave President Alexander Van der Bellen 54.6% of the vote and his closest rival, far-right Freedom Party candidate Walter Rosenkranz, 19.1%. There were seven contenders in Sunday’s election, but Van der Bellen had the implicit or explicit backing of Austria’s mainstream parties. Van der Bellen said that, with pre-election polls giving him a big lead, he had worried that people wouldn’t turn out to vote. Hofer’s party had claimed widespread voting irregularities in the initial runoff months earlier that Van der Bellen won by a whisker.

Source: The Star October 09, 2022 19:57 UTC