Ing. Norbert
Hofer, 45, anti-immigration candidate of the Freedom Party won Austria’s
Presidential election with 51.9 percent of the vote, referring to official data
from the Ministry of the Interior states. The figures could change when postal
ballots are counted on Monday.
The Ministry
states that Green Party candidate Alexander van der Bellen, 74, gathered only
48.1 percent of the ballots cast.
For the first
time since the Second World War, the main parties in Austria, socialist party
(SPÖ) and Christian Democrats (ÖVP), were eliminated in the first round of
elections on April 22 2016.
The defeated
parties in alliance with the Muslim minorities in Austria have backed strongly
Prof. Alexander van der Bellen in the second round of
election.
The Freedom
Party ran an anti-immigration campaign for the Austrian presidency which argues
for tougher rules on asylum seekers and protecting Austria’s borders. About
90,000 foreigners asked for asylum in Austria since the last year, equivalent to
about 1% of the Austrian population.
The
presidency in Austria is a largely ceremonial post. The president has limited
power, but a victory for Mr Hofer could be the springboard for Freedom Party
success in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for
2018.
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