Austria delays presidential vote re-run to December 4

“We cannot estimate how many and which of these ballots could open”, Sobotka said of the faulty envelopes, adding that because the flaw raises the possibility the present ballots could be tampered with, “We cannot carry out proper elections”.

Possible new dates for the vote are November 27 and December 4.

“It’s bad. I really wonder if it’s worth bothering to vote again, if we even need a president”, 50-year-old office worker Margit Freudenthaler said.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka on Friday apologised for the “technical shortcomings”.

The catalyst for the ongoing issues surrounding the vote cards has this time been problems with the envelopes they are to be sealed in.

Though the presidency is largely ceremonial, a win for the FPÖ would make Austria the first European country to elect a far-right head of state since 1945 – a political shot in the arm for extremist allies in France and in northern Europe.

Austria has been without a president since July 8 when Heinz Fischer stepped down.

In the wake of the abovementioned May presidential election, which was annulled after Austria’s highest court upheld claims of procedural irregularities made by the narrowly-defeated far-right, a new election had been scheduled for October 2. His opponent, Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer, cried foul and the country’s Constitutional Court demanded a rerun after ruling that ballots and voting results had been handled improperly.

Another question is whether to update the voter register as, since the last election, tens of thousands of voters have died, while a similar number have turned 16 and can now vote, media reports said. Parliament would need to approve this step with a two-thirds majority, he said.

Indeed, Hofer has jumped on the problems with the election as proof that Austria needs to be shaken up. Find us on Facebook too! One solution proposed was that the election officials could travel to places like retirement homes or hospitals to conduct the votes in person if the voters are unable to go to the polling booths themselves.

The objections focused on postal voting.