2019 Vorarlberg state election

The 2019 Vorarlberg state election was held on 13 October 2019 to elect the members of the Landtag of Vorarlberg.

2019 Vorarlberg state election

13 October 2019

All 36 seats in the Landtag of Vorarlberg
19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout166,130 (61.4%)
2.9%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Markus Wallner Johannes Rauch Christof Bitschi
Party ÖVP Greens FPÖ
Last election 16 seats, 41.8% 6 seats, 17.1% 9 seats, 23.4%
Seats won 17 7 5
Seat change 1 1 4
Popular vote 71,911 31,201 23,011
Percentage 43.5% 18.9% 13.9%
Swing 1.7% 1.7% 9.5%

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Martin Staudinger Sabine Scheffknecht
Party SPÖ NEOS
Last election 3 seats, 8.8% 2 seats, 6.9%
Seats won 4 3
Seat change 1 1
Popular vote 15,635 14,064
Percentage 9.5% 8.5%
Swing 0.7% 1.6%

ÖVP results by municipality. Darker shades indicate a stronger vote share.

Governor before election

Markus Wallner
ÖVP

Elected Governor

Markus Wallner
ÖVP

The election was marked by major losses for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), with all other parties benefiting as a result. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) each improved their vote share for the first time since 2004, though the former failed to regain the absolute majority it had lost in 2014. The Greens moved into second place with a strong result of 18.9%. NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) sought re-election to a Landtag for the first time and improved its performance to 8.5%.[1]

The election took place just two weeks after the federal election in September, and was viewed as a boost to the prospect of an ÖVP–Green federal coalition, which would mirror the composition of the incumbent Voralberg government. The ÖVP–Green government under Governor Markus Wallner was renewed and took office in November.[2]

Background

In the 2014 election, the ÖVP suffered major losses, primarily to the Greens and new party NEOS, and lost its majority. The party subsequently formed a coalition with the Greens.

Electoral system

The 36 seats of the Landtag of Vorarlberg are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between four multi-member constituencies, corresponding to the districts of Vorarlberg. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hagenbach-Bischoff quota, with any remaining seats allocated at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

Name Ideology Leader 2014 result
Votes (%) Seats
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy Markus Wallner 41.8%
16 / 36
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Christof Bitschi 23.4%
9 / 36
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics Johannes Rauch 17.1%
6 / 36
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy Martin Staudinger 8.8%
3 / 36
NEOS NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum
NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum
Liberalism
Pro-Europeanism
Sabine Scheffknecht 6.9%
2 / 36

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, seven parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Result

Party Votes % +/− Seats +/−
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 71,911 43.53 +1.74 17 +1
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 31,201 18.89 +1.74 7 +1
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 23,011 13.93 –9.49 5 –4
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 15,635 9.46 +0.69 4 +1
NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) 14,064 8.51 +1.62 3 +1
Home to all Cultures (HAK) 3,066 1.85 New 0 New
Xi – Future Opportunity (XI) 2,481 1.50 New 0 New
The Change (WANDEL) 1,475 0.89 New 0 New
WIR – Platform for Families and Child Protection (WIR) 1,144 0.69 +0.05 0 ±0
Men's Party (M) 567 0.34 –0.05 0 ±0
Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ) 426 0.26 –0.23 0 ±0
My Vote Counts! (GILT) 230 0.14 New 0 New
Invalid/blank votes 919
Total 166,130 100 36 0
Registered voters/turnout 270,521 61.41 –2.90
Source: Vorarlberg Government
Popular vote
ÖVP
43.53%
GRÜNE
18.89%
FPÖ
13.93%
SPÖ
9.46%
NEOS
8.51%
Other
5.69%
Landtag seats
ÖVP
47.22%
GRÜNE
19.44%
FPÖ
13.89%
SPÖ
11.11%
NEOS
8.33%

Results by constituency

Constituency ÖVP Grüne FPÖ SPÖ NEOS Others Total
seats
%S %S %S %S %S %
Bludenz48.2313.314.5112.47.24.54
Bregenz46.2518.6212.719.218.215.210
Dornbirn37.5321.1116.418.69.27.15
Feldkirch41.9421.2213.218.59.215.98
Remaining seats221319
Total43.51718.9713.959.548.535.736
Source: Vorarlberg Government

Aftermath

Governor Wallner held discussions with all parties before entering coalition talks with the Greens.[3] They came to an agreement on 4 November, which was approved by both parties.[2]

References

  1. "Wahlen". Vorarlberg Government.
  2. "Black-Green II in Vorarlberg decided by a large majority". Der Standard. 4 November 2019.
  3. "In conversation with all party leaders". epaper.neue.at. 16 October 2019.
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