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AUSTRIA
Nationalrat (National Council)
ELECTIONS HELD IN 2006

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

Parliament name (generic / translated) Parlament / Parliament
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Nationalrat / National Council
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Bundesrat / Federal Council
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 1 October 2006
Timing and scope of renewal Elections were held for all the seats in the National Council following premature dissolution of this body on 14 July 2006. Elections to the National Council had previously taken place on 24 November 2002.
On 12 July 2006 the major political parties reached an agreement to dissolve the National Council and hold parliamentary elections on 1 October eight weeks ahead of schedule. The National Council was subsequently dissolved on 14 July.

In the last elections held in November 2002 the centre-right People's Party (ÖVP) won 79 seats followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) with 69. The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) took 19 seats while the Greens obtained 16. The international community expressed concern when the ÖVP formed a coalition government with the FPÖ after talks with the SPÖ and Greens had collapsed. In the presidential elections held in April 2004 the SPÖ candidate Mr. Heinz Fischer defeated the ÖVP candidate Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

In campaigning for the 2006 elections ÖVP highlighted the business-friendly tax cuts implemented by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's government. The opposition SPÖ argued that ÖVP policies had increased inequalities among the population and pledged to deal with youth unemployment. The FPÖ called for the expulsion of foreigners from Austria. The Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) formed in April 2005 by former FPÖ leader Mr. Jörg Haider also campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.

Approximately 74 per cent of the 6.1 million registered voters turned out at the polls. It was suggested that the drop in turnout of 10 percentage points from the 2002 elections indicated disaffection among the ÖVP's traditional electorate.

The final results gave a narrow majority to the SPÖ which won 68 seats followed by the ÖVP with 66 and the FPÖ with 21. The Greens won 20 seats while the BZÖ won eight.

On 11 October 2006 the President of the Republic Mr. Heinz Fischer asked the SPÖ leader Mr. Alfred Gusenbauer to form a new government.

The newly elected National Council was convened on 30 October 2006. Ms. Barbara Prammer of the SPÖ was elected as its new Speaker becoming the first woman to assume the post.

After three months of negotiations a grand coalition between the SPÖ and the ÖVP was finalized when the two parties reached an agreement on budget issues. Mr. Gusenbauer was sworn in as Prime Minister on 11 January 2007.
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 11 October 2006
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
6'107'851
4'533'500 (74.22%)
82'871
4'450'629
Notes
Distribution of votes
Round no 1
Political Group Candidates Votes Gain/Loss %
Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) 1'589'126 -'203'373 35.71
People's Party (ÖVP) 1'523'143 -'553'690 34.22
Freedom Party (FPÖ) 499'113 7'785 11.21
Greens 466'844 1'864 10.49
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) 186'794 186'794 4.20
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total Gain/Loss
Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) 68 -1
People's Party (ÖVP) 66 -13
Freedom Party (FPÖ) 21 3
Greens 20 3
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) 8 8
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men
Women
Percent of women
124
59
32.24%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Public service Austrian national railways post office 55
Social insurance system political parties special-interest groups 45
Banking tourism commerce insurance 19
Liberal professions 18
Industry and trade 16
Others 15
Agriculture and forestry 14
Homemaker 1
Comments
Sources:
- http://wahl06.bmi.gv.at/
- Parliament (30.10.2006)

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