Austrian President was chosen, despite scandal and re-election

In 2016 the attention of the media was attracted by Austria. The presidential elections in the country were not without scandal and re-elections. Everything ended peacefully and within the law. The politician who lost in the second round admitted his defeat, he urged the citizens of the country to unite and work together.

The head of state in the political structure

The state is a parliamentary republic, in which the constitution for the year 1920 is in force. The head is the President of Austria. His powers are to represent the state on the international arena, to sign treaties, to appoint and remove the Chancellor, to dissolve the National Council and the Landtag. He also commands the armed forces of the country.

The head of state is elected for a period of six years. However, one and the same person can not be president for more than twelve years.

President of the year 2004-2016

Prior to the 2016 elections, Heinz Fischer spent twelve years in power. He was born on 09/10/1938. He received a law degree at the University of Vienna. The next president came to parliament in 1971. In the eighties of the twentieth century, he was Minister of Science, and since 1993 professor of political science.

In 2004, Fischer was promoted to the post of head of state. After winning the election, he suspended his membership in the PSD. In the country it is accepted that the President of Austria perform his functions objectively. Therefore, Fischer decided to be a "supra-party president".

In 2009, the politician again put forward his candidacy. The election took place in 2010, where Fischer won, having received an overwhelming number of votes. A little over seventy-nine percent of voters voted for him. At the same time, the lowest voter turnout was recorded, which was about fifty-three percent.

Elections and re-elections of 2016

The President of Austria is elected on the basis of the constitution, the 1971 law, as amended. The government appoints a voting day. Citizens of the country who are sixteen years old take part in elections.

The candidate who has collected more than half of votes becomes the candidate. In the absence of a majority, four weeks later, an additional tour is held. Two candidates with the largest number of votes on the results of the first round take part in it.

Since 1982, there is a law on which only one candidate can take part in elections. In this case, they are held in the form of a referendum. The law was prescribed in case the incumbent president becomes the only candidate. Similar precedents have not yet arisen. In 2007, the method of voting by mail was legalized.

In 2011, the law of 1919 was repealed, according to which representatives of the Habsburg dynasty can not claim the post of president .

Candidates for the post of head of state in 2016:

• Alexander van der Bellen;
• Irmgard Griss;
• Norbert Hofer;
• Rudolf Hundstorfer;
• Andreas Kohl;
• Richard Lugner.

Voting results

According to the results of the first round, Hofer and Van der Bellen received the most votes. They took part in the second round, which ended in a scandal and subsequent appeal. Since 08.07.2016, the term of Fisher's presidency has expired, so the speaker of the parliament and his two deputies became the provisional head of state.

The re-election took place in December 2016. As a result of the second round, as well as the re-election victory was won by Van der Bellen.

Officially, the President of Austria took office on January 26, 2017. About the 72-year-old politics it is known that he was the leader of the Green Party, but participated in the elections as an independent center-left candidate. His ancestors along the line of his father from the end of the seventeenth century to 1919 lived in Russia. Parents lived in Austria for a long time as refugees and spoke Russian, although the politician does not speak Russian.