Signature collection for Austria’s parliamentary election on September 29 began on Tuesday.
Parties or groups running without nomination from at least three sitting members of the National Council, the lower house of the Austrian parliament, must gather 2,600 signatures across all nine federal states by August 2, with between 100 and 500 signatures required per state.
Several small parties are campaigning for signatures.
These include the Beer Party (Bier Partei) led by Dominik Wlazny and the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), as well as Wandel, Liste Madeleine Petrovic, the vaccine-critical MFG (People-Freedom-Rights), the SERVUS Party founded by entrepreneur Hannes Pirker, the alliance The Yellows, the Independent Austrians (DUO), the Democratic Alternative, and List GAZA.
The parties currently represented in the National Council – the People’s Party (ÖVP), Greens (Grüne), Social Democrats (SPÖ), Freedom Party (FPÖ) and NEOS – do not need signatures to run.
Following a series of political crises involving party finances, all parties will now be required to adhere to a strict campaign spending limit, allowing a maximum expenditure of €8.66 million until election day.
