Small Parties Race to Qualify for Austria’s Elections

Small Parties Race to Qualify for Austria’s Elections

Parlamentsdirektion/Thomas Topf

 

Small parties are racing against the clock to gather enough signatures to stand in Austria’s parliamentary elections this September.

So far, seven parties have been confirmed: the five that are already in parliament – the People’s Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), the Freedom Party (FPÖ), the Green Party and NEOS – as well as the Beer Party and the Communist Party (KPÖ).

Non-parliamentary parties must collect 2,600 signatures nationwide to qualify. The deadline for submitting signatures is 17:00 today.

Several smaller parties are still scrambling to collect the necessary support at the last minute. The Liste Petrovic, founded by former Green Party leader and critic of COVID-19 measures Madeleine Petrovic, remains hopeful about its chances of running.

The “Wandel” party, which will appear on the ballot this year as “KEINE” (NO), has also expressed optimism about its candidacy. Signatures are still pending for the “Liste Gaza” and “MFG” parties.

The “Bestes Österreich” list has already withdrawn. Lead candidate David Packer described feeling “simply terrorised” by state institutions, though the specifics of this claim were not detailed in his statement. The “Demokratische Alternative” list has also failed to qualify.

Read our guide to the elections here: Austria’s Main Political Parties Explained

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