Austria
Unprecedented glitch in the election: the new SPÖ boss was only second
When the Austrian Social Democrats elect their new chairman at the weekend, Hans Peter Doskozil seems to win. Only: That was not the case. The votes were switched when the votes were counted.
The Austrian Social Democrats experienced an unprecedented breakdown in the election for party chairman at the weekend: The opposition party SPÖ announced that Hans Peter Doskozil, who was elected party leader on Saturday, did not win the election – but his competitor Andreas Babler.
The votes were swapped during the count, said the head of the election commission, Michaela Grubesa.
“Low point for Austrian social democracy”
“This is certainly a low point for Austrian social democracy up to a certain point,” said Doskozil, who was now defeated, about the counting error. The Prime Minister of Burgenland admitted defeat. “It is undisputed to take note of the election result in this way,” said the politician known for his restrictive migration policy. He congratulated Babler, who is assigned to the left wing of the party.
The error happened when it was transferred to an Excel spreadsheet, said Grubesa. In fact, Doskozil got 280 votes, but Babler got 317 votes. The error was accidentally discovered during a recount on Monday. It had become necessary to explain why a voice was missing. It turned out to be invalid. The party apologized to Doskozil, said Grubesa. The new party leader is now Babler.