The Austrian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the ballot of the presidential elections last May which saw the ecologist Alexander Van der Bellen prevail over the far-right candidate Norbert Hofer. The decision was taken due to irregularities in the count. The unprecedented ruling by the Court upholds an appeal filed by Hofer's FPO party and paves the way for a repeat run-off in the autumn. In the meantime, Van der Bellen will have to give up taking office of the presidency as planned for next July 8th. The functions of the President will be carried out ad interim by the presidency of the lower house of Parliament
The Austrian Constitutional Court has not identified any fraud or manipulation, but several irregularities in the counting of the ballot boxes and mail-in votes which affect the validity of the result. Van der Bellen, in fact, had won by just 31 votes, imposing himself with a percentage of 50,3% compared to Hofer's 49,7%.
