[ad_1]
For the 465,256 Carinthians who were eligible to vote in the 132 municipalities, they only attended the municipal council and mayor elections wearing an FFP2 mask and their own pen. If you have not yet cast your vote in advance using a voting card. What many did in Corona more than ever: 105,621 votes were cast by ballot card, a good quarter. There is no comparison value for the city council election six years ago. In the state elections of 2018, however, 25,424 voting cards were requested in southern Austria, in the elections to the National Council they were 52,900.
Final result on Monday afternoon
Due to the preference for voting cards, the fear that has been expressed for weeks in the largest cities (Klagenfurt, Villach, Spittal) will be confirmed on Sunday: election result, please wait. In some municipalities, especially in Upper Carinthia, the voting deadline was 4pm even earlier, but since voting cards can only be opened and counted after the personally cast votes have been counted, wait until Monday afternoon. This means that only then will you be absolutely sure whether there will be a second round of the elections (date: March 14).
Former mayor Köfer is in the second round of elections in Spittal
The race for the position of local chief is still exciting, especially in the state capital Klagenfurt and in Spittal an der Drau. A real sensational event emerged here on Sunday evening. In Klagenfurt Christian Scheider (formerly FPÖ, now Team Carinthia) competed against his successor Maria-Luise Mathiaschitz (SPÖ). And Scheider was ahead of the curve when it came to projections. Fixed a runoff between Scheider and Mathiaschitz.
The starting position in the city of Drau is equally distressing. Here it became clear on Sunday night that the leader of the state party Team Carinthia, Gerhard Köfer, who was mayor of the city for 16 years, but at that time as a SPÖ politician, is going to the second round of elections for mayor against his successor Gerhard Pirih (SPÖ). According to initial information in Spittal an der Drau, the Carinthia team even surpassed the SPÖ in the municipal council elections.
Winner and loser
The smallest parliamentary party in Carinthia, “Team Carinthia”, could thus emerge victorious from the elections with victories in Klagenfurt and Spittal an der Drau. The contests were held in seven out of 132 municipalities, with a municipal council roster and a mayoral candidate everywhere. The FPÖ emerged as the big loser in the screenings on Sunday night.
Head to head race
A look at the first tentative result for the district capital Hermagor (without voting cards) shows the important role that voting cards are likely to play. There is a melee race between the ÖVP (37.53 percent) and the SPÖ (37.70 percent). In the mayoral election, Leopold Astner (ÖVP, 42.37 percent) is just ahead of current mayor Siegfried Ronacher (SPÖ, 38.77 percent) percent). For the Reds, the first shake could come for the CEO.
The situation in the district capital, St. Veit an der Glan, is completely different. Acting Mayor Martin Kulmer (SPÖ) provisionally won 67.71 percent of the vote and was able to win significantly compared to his predecessor Gerhard Mock, who won 14.79 percent fewer votes in 2015.
The SPÖ’s main candidate, Markus Lakounigg, was also confirmed in the district capital, Völkermarkt. He made 53.5 percent. The SPÖ is also the party with the strongest vote with 52.5 percent, followed by the ÖVP (22.8 percent), the FPÖ (22.1 percent) and the NEOS (2.6 percent) .
The SPÖ can also wait in Villach. Mayor Günther Albel won a sovereign victory with 58.8 percent. The SPÖ regained the absolute with 50.02 percent. And the jubilation continues in the district capital Wolfsberg: there Hannes Primus clearly secured the election with 65.06 percent. With 58.53 percent, the SPÖ is also the party with the highest number of votes in the municipal elections.
How are the elections going?
Political scientists see local elections as confirmation elections for incumbents, especially in difficult times. Voter turnout showed a positive outlook: rural communities in particular achieved high values (Lesachtal: 93 percent; Feistritz an der Gail 94 percent; Weißensee 88 percent (second round of mayor); Gitschtal 86 percent; Ossiach 81 percent hundred). Outlier on the other hand: Villach. Here, a voter turnout of between 50 and 60 percent is expected.
However, the SPÖ is likely to remain the determining force in municipalities and in the state. Seven of the eight district capitals of Carinthia had red mayors before the elections.
The district capital, Feldkirchen, remains in the hands of the ÖVP
Feldkirchen is the exception. Here Martin Treffner entered the local boss race as the favorite for the ÖVP. Without further ado, “Restricted Area Scandal” was rewritten by the Spider Murphy gang with the election anthem “Election College Alarm.” And the sound obviously brought luck: the ÖVP got 46.5 percent (without voting cards). In the mayoral elections, Treffner won 55 percent of the vote.
SPÖ determining force
In the 2015 municipal council and mayoral elections, the Social Democrats obtained 40.23 percent, contributing 60 of the 132 mayors. The ÖVP reached 22.5 percent and 42 mayors, the FPÖ 17.96 percent and 22 mayors. The unit list represents two mayors. Green 5.59 percent. Participation in 2015 was 71 percent.
And while in the big cities of Carinthia the race for the local chief is stirring until Monday, ten municipalities can relax before the elections. Here the local boss has already been determined, as there is only one candidate.
First Mayor of Wernberg
Other interesting details: of 406 mayoral candidates, only 43 women ran. One of them was successful in Wernberg. Doris Liposchek (SPÖ) was able to win in the first vote. She succeeds long-term mayor Franz Zwölbar (SPÖ) and is the first female mayor of Wernberg.
The oldest candidate for mayor is 79 years old, the youngest 22 years old. And if 22-year-old Maximilan Peter were to prevail in St. Andrä, this would have consequences for the whole of Austria: then he would be the youngest local chief in the country.
