1996 European Parliament election in Austria

A election was held in 1996 to elect the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament.

1996 European Parliament election in Austria

13 October 1996 1999 →

21 seats to the European Parliament
Turnout67.73%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Ursula Stenzel Hannes Swoboda Franz Linser
Party ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ
Alliance EPP PES None
Seats won 7 6 6
Popular vote 1,124,921 1,105,910 1,044,604
Percentage 29.65% 29.15% 27.53%

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Johannes Voggenhuber Friedhelm Frischenschlager
Party Greens LiF
Alliance Green ALDE
Seats won 1 1
Popular vote 258,250 161,583
Percentage 6.81% 4.26%

Background edit

Source:[1]

In 1996, Austria was a country with a population of 7.9 million (5.8 million voters). The federal government was a "grand coalition" of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the Christian Democratic Party (ÖVP) and was led by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky.

Source:[2]

At the last national election in 1995, the parties obtained the following results: SPÖ: 38.1%, ÖVP: 28.3%, FPÖ: 21.9%, Liberals: 5.5% and Greens: 4.8%.

Composition before election edit

Source:[3]

An asterisk (*) indicates Members standing for re-election.

Electoral system edit

Source:[4]

The electoral system used for the European elections was based on proportional representation, comparable to the system traditionally used in Austria for legislative elections.

The parties put forward lists of candidates. The seats are shared out on the basis of the percentage of the votes obtained by each list. Because of the limited number of seats, the lists were identical for the whole of Austria; there were no regional lists. The threshold required to win a seat was 4%. Candidates who win 7% of the total 'preference votes' obtained by their party would win one of the seats accorded to the party, irrespective of their position on the list. The lists of candidates had to be signed by three members of the national parliament, or by one Member of the European Parliament, or by 2600 voters. The minimum voting age was 18. European citizens residing in Austria were entitled to vote provided that they did not vote in their country of origin in the June 1994 European elections. 7205 European citizens registered and fulfilled that condition.

Parties running for election edit

Source:[5]

The following political parties entered lists for the European elections on 13 October 1996:

Parties represented in the EP edit

Parties not represented in the EP edit

  • Forum Handicap (group defending the interests of the handicapped): Mr Klaus VOGET.
  • KPÖ (communists): Mr Walter BAIER.
  • N-Die Neutralen (group campaigning for the retention of neutrality)

Results edit

PartyVotes%Seats
Austrian People's Party1,124,92129.657
Social Democratic Party of Austria1,105,91029.156
Freedom Party of Austria1,044,60427.536
The Greens – The Green Alternative258,2506.811
Liberal Forum161,5834.261
The Neutrals48,6001.280
Forum Handicap32,6210.860
Communist Party of Austria17,6560.470
Total3,794,145100.0021
Valid votes3,794,14596.58
Invalid/blank votes134,3933.42
Total votes3,928,538100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,800,37767.73
Source: Ministry of Interior

References edit