At least five parties will be on the ballot paper in the EU elections in June. In addition to the National Council parties ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ, Greens and NEOS, the KPÖ was also confident that it would receive the necessary 2,600 expressions of support. The deadline for potential candidates to submit their nominations ends on Friday.
All parties that cannot rely on the signatures of three members of the National Council or one EU parliamentarian must submit the necessary 2,600 statements of support to the Federal Electoral Authority before 5 p.m. to be on the ballot paper on June 9.
Image: Provisional parties on the ballot paper
In addition to the KPÖ, the VOLT Europe list, the alliance “Öxit EU exit for Austria” and the “EU Exit Party” also collected information.
All eligible voters may sign
Only those eligible to vote, i.e. all Austrians and other EU citizens with their main residence in the country, who were on the electoral register before the deadline (March 26), could sign. The hurdle to collecting signatures for the EU elections is basically the same as for the National Council elections.
Candidacy for the EU more difficult for small parties
But for small parties, the EU candidacy is more difficult: all of Austria is one constituency in which 2,600 signatures must be collected. In elections for the National Council, a party with correspondingly fewer signatures can only stand as a candidate in individual states.
The alliance “Öxit EU-exit for Austria” is also still hopeful
The KPÖ recently seemed confident that it could raise the necessary expressions of support. But the “Öxit EU-exit for Austria” alliance (led by former BZÖ Secretary General Christian Ebner) also believed that it could still reach the necessary 2,600 in the final spurt.
Other parties probably don’t have a chance
The pan-European party VOLT is unlikely to be on the ballot; a day before the deadline, the party had only about 1,000 expressions of support. The chairman of the ‘EU Exit Party’, Robert Marschall, was in a bind. He referred to the official announcement after the deadline.
So far, only eighteen parties have appeared on the ballots in the six European elections. Eight of them won mandates: ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ and the Greens have been in the EU Parliament since 1996. The NEOS were added in 2014. The LIF was there from 1996 to 1999, Hans-Peter Martin’s list from 2004 to 2014 – and the BZÖ from 2011 (with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty) to 2014.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.