Austria to Rerun Presidential Election After Far-Right Appeal

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VIENNA — Austria's highest court on Friday overturned the results of the country's presidential election and ordered a rerun, following claims of counting irregularities by the candidate who narrowly lost.

It also gives the defeated candidate the chance to become the first far-right head of state in the European Union.

The ruling may be unique beyond Austria. Political scientist Peter Filzmaier said it appeared to represent the first time that a nationwide vote will have to be repeated "in any modern world democracy."

The decision was announced by Constitutional Court chief judge Gerhart Holzinger. It represents a victory for the anti-immigration Freedom Party, which challenged the May 22 runoff, but also has wider implications that encompass other European countries.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/austria-rerun-presidential-election-after-far-right-appeal-n602256

[ck4829]

1. "Mulligan. Mulligan. Mulligan."

[Ghost Dog]

2. Hmmm. This from back in May:

Far-right Austrian presidential candidate dismisses voter fraud claims
Philip Oltermann in Vienna Tuesday 24 May 2016

... In the immediate aftermath of the vote, FPÖ leaders and activists had cried foul over the narrow result, with the Green-endorsed independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen winning by only about 31,000 votes.

Even before it emerged that Hofer had lost out on the presidency due to Van der Bellen’s strong performance in the postal vote, the party’s secretary, Herbert Kickl, had said that absentee votes had in the past shown up “inconsistencies” .

“Accomplices of the current political system could potentially use the opportunity to adjust the result in favour of the system’s representative, Alexander Van der Bellen,” Kickl said.

On his Facebook page, the party leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, seized on irregularities in Linz and Waidhofen, where the final result announced a voter turnout of 146.9%. The interior ministry said the figure was the result of a data entry error...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/24/austria-far-right-freedom-party-cries-foul-presidential-election-defeat

And now

...The court faulted the handling of absentee ballots in many districts, saying rules had been broken. In line with similar court rulings in the past, proof of ballot manipulation wasn’t required and the Freedom Party didn’t claim any...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-01/austria-orders-rerun-of-presidential-vote-that-nationalist-lost

Well, I have to say that on these (and there would be other valid) grounds, such a court in Spain would have to order that the recent Spanish repeat General Election would have to be, umm, repeated...

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3. Given the importance of voting systems, it seems odd that they are so often "unreliable".

It might lead one to question the government's competence, not being able to hold a vote and count up the result. What else can they not do?