Norbert Hofer
The presidential candidate of the far-right Austrian freedom party (fpö) Norbert Hofer conceded defeat in the elections of the President, which took place on 4 December. In the address on his page on Facebook he thanked his constituents for their support and stated that endlessly frustrated by failure.
According to the interior Ministry of Austria, who leads RIA Novosti, Hofer received 39.6 percent of the vote, his opponent former green Party leader Alexander van der Bellen — 60.4 per cent.
Shortly before the elections Hofer said that in case of victory, one of the first countries he will visit will be Russia. He also said that the President would seek a referendum on the country’s withdrawal from the EU if Brussels will reinforce centralization after Brexit.
Re-election of the President of Austria was appointed on 4 December after the country’s constitutional court annulled the results of the second round of elections, held on 22 may. Review of the results achieved APS, alleging irregularities in the counting came in the mail ballots.
According to the results of voting in electoral precincts Hofer was ahead of his opponent van der Bell. However, the next day was counted votes sent by mail (this method of voting allowed since 2007), which provided van der Bellino victory (a margin of 0.3 percent).