KYIV. UkraineGate . 10. October .2022 | Society .
In Austria, in the presidential elections held on Sunday, the incumbent head of state Alexander van der Bellen won.
Details
According to preliminary voting results released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he received more than 54% of the vote. He was elected to a second six-year term.
The incumbent president’s main rival, Franz Rosencrantz of the right-wing Freedom Party, won about 19% of the vote and admitted his defeat.
Van der Bellen is the former head of the Austrian Green Party. Six years ago, he was elected president in a dramatic fight against a candidate from the Freedom Party – then, by a court decision, a second vote was held, the gap between the candidates was very small.
Now the 78-year-old president has gained great popularity in society due to his balanced position during political crises in the country, in particular the high-profile scandal involving former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Van der Bellen has criticized Russian President Putin and invaded Ukraine.
According to the constitution, the president has quite extensive powers, but, as a rule, he does not interfere in the activities of the chancellor and the executive branch.
Source: Ukrgate
