Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Politics

Austrian Social Democrats feted wrong new leader after ballot mix-up

FILE PHOTO: Austria's Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil addresses a news conference in Vienna, Austria September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

Austria's Social Democrats celebrated Hans Peter Doskozil as their new leader at a party conference on Saturday after a ballot of delegates - only for faces to turn red two days later when it emerged that his opponent had actually won.

The party's electoral commission head Michaela Grubesa said on Monday the results had been attributed to the wrong candidates and the winner was in fact Andreas Babler.

"Unfortunately, the paper ballots did not match the result that was announced digitally," she told a news conference. "Due to a colleague's technical error in the Excel list, the result was mixed up."

The correct count was 280 votes for Doskozil and 317 votes for Babler, or about 47% to 53%. Grubesa said she had ordered a recount after one ballot was missing. It was later found and ruled invalid.

Doskozil, a former police chief and now governor of the province of Burgenland who shot to fame during the 2015-2016 migration crisis, conceded defeat at a news conference and congratulated Babler, who is from the party's left wing.

"Nothing can justify...what happened here," Babler said in a statement.

He said he had requested another recount and would become leader if the result was confirmed. He apologised to members for the mix-up, which he called a "low point" for the opposition party seeking to convince voters it is fit to run the country.

"If I take over this party I will work with my team towards the full comeback of Social Democracy," he said.

The news stunned the country, with many expressing disbelief.

"Banana republic," deputy editor-in-chief of the Kleine Zeitung newspaper, Michael Jungwirth, tweeted.

For satirical website Die Tagespresse, real life could not be beaten, prompting it to tweet in English: "Our job is done."

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.