Austria’s highest court has ordered a revote in the country’s presidential race, giving far-right politician Norbert Hofer another crack at winning the job; Hofer lost a runoff election against liberal opponent Alexander Van der Bellen by only 0.6 percent in May. (FWIW: Austria’s chancellor, not its president, is its most powerful executive.) Judges ruled that a new vote was needed because of procedural irregularities discovered after the May contest, the New York Times reports:
The 14 judges on the court heard testimony from about 90 witnesses. Most described procedural mistakes, like starting the counting of postal ballots on the evening of May 22, instead of waiting until the next morning, as the election law stipulates. In other cases, witnesses testified that absentee ballots had begun to be counted before all election officials were present.
Hofer’s Freedom Party was founded in the 1950s by former Nazis and has long advocated strict limits on immigration.
The revote will likely be held in September or October.
