Austrian president projected to seal re-election
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has been re-elected, projections showed on Sunday, after campaigning on promises of stability as the Alpine country struggles with an energy crisis and inflation. The projections showed the 78-year-old incumbent sweeping 54.6 percent of the votes with six other candidates lagging far behind. The final official result was not expected until Monday. Campaigning on a slogan of "clarity" and "stability", Van der Bellen had been widely tipped to clinch a second mandate. "It would be nice if we had clarity today," the economics professor said after casting his ballot in central Vienna earlier Sunday. "Nice for Austria, nice for us – if we can then fully concentrate on the diverse tasks ahead, the multitude of crises... that we in Austria, in Europe, are facing." Polls ahead of the election had suggested the pro-European liberal would secure more than 50 percent of the vote, thus avoiding a run-off. Some 6.4 million people were eligible to cast their ballots from the European Union country's total population of nine million. The presidential post, which has a term of six years, is largely ceremonial. Van der Bellen was running again as an independent, but he has the explicit or implicit backing of Austria's major parties except the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe). The latter has fielded its own candidate, Walter Rosenkranz who, according to the projections, got 18.9 percent of votes cast. Also standing for the presidency was 35-year-old punk rocker Dominik Wlazny, founder of the Beer Party, named for its advocacy of the popular beverage. He came fourth with 8.1 percent, according to the projections. (AFP)