Vienna election: Deadline for nominations expires on Friday

The deadline for submitting nominations ends on Friday (February 28). Both constituency and district lists must then have arrived at the authorities. What is just a formality for the established parties represented in the town hall or the districts is stressful for everyone else, because they need enough signatures.

Different regulations apply at the state and district levels. At least 100 signatures are required at the municipal level for the respective constituencies, and 50 per district for the district councils. Parties that are already represented in the municipal council or in the districts, however, can forgo recruiting supporters.

If a party wants to run in all of Vienna, it needs signatures in all constituencies. There is a small change here this year. The Hernals and Währing constituencies have been merged. The new constituency is called "North-West".

A few days after February 28, another deadline will expire: the so-called city election proposals for the municipal council can be submitted until March 3. These state lists will be used to allocate mandates ("remaining mandates") in the municipal council to those parties in the so-called second investigation procedure.

This means that the seats that have not already been allocated through basic mandates in the constituencies will be awarded. However, only groups that have cleared the hurdle for entry will be able to take part. This is the case if they receive at least 5 percent of the votes in the whole of Vienna.

Who is likely to be on the ballot papers is to be announced on Friday. The deadline is 1 p.m. The town hall will probably inform about the nominations received in the late afternoon or early evening. Who is finally allowed to stand as a candidate will not be formally determined until the following days. The nominations are still being examined by the city election authority and the district election authorities.

Some parties have already provided information on the current situation. Former FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache reported that it could be "extremely close" for him to collect the necessary signatures in all constituencies. The electoral alliance of KPÖ and LINKS announced today, Tuesday, that it had collected the necessary declarations of support for all 17 municipal council constituencies as well as all 23 district council elections.