Late reckoning – EU elections: this is what the long, long election Sunday will be like

It will be a strenuous but also exciting day for the top candidates and their teams. Election Sunday starts with voting. From the afternoon onwards, political events will focus on the federal capital: there, after the publication of the first trend forecast on the election results, all the top candidates will gather in the House of the European Union. Afterwards there are separate celebrations at the election parties.

Marathon runner Lopatka can start first

• Early bird Reinhold Lopatka is the first to cast his vote. The ÖVP top candidate will cast his vote at 8 a.m. in his hometown of Greinbach in the Styrian district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld.
• Also early is the Green top candidate Lena Schilling, who will vote in Vienna-Meidling at 9 a.m.
• Not far away, in Vienna-Mariahilf, the KPÖ’s top candidate, Günther Hopfgartner, makes his move at a polling station in the Hospital of the Sisters of Mercy.

• At 11 a.m. NEOS candidate Helmut Brandstätter will exercise his voting rights in Viennese currency.
• At the same time, his FPÖ colleague Harald Vilimsky in Vienna-Landstraße and the leader of the DNA list, Maria Hubmer-Mogg, will also cast their votes in the Styrian capital Graz.
• SPÖ top candidate Andreas Schieder votes at 11:30 am in his residential area in Vienna-Leopoldstadt.

Almost a clash of dates in voting
There was almost a delicate clash of dates when voting: Vilimsky and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen originally wanted to cast their votes at the same restaurant at the same time. The meeting was prevented in time. Van der Bellen will cast his vote at 10.15 am. Even five years ago, the two cast their votes at the same place at different times.

Forecasts and election parties
The party elections will begin in the afternoon and the vote will largely depend on trend forecasts.

• The ÖVP holds its celebration in front of the federal party headquarters in Lichtenfelsgasse.
• The liberal election party takes place next door in the Vino Wien restaurant.
• The SPÖ meets in the Marx Palace in Vienna-Landstrasse.
• The Greens are in the Metropol in Vienna-Hernals, the pink election party takes place in a bar near the Heumarkt.
• The KPÖ meets in the restaurant of its top candidate, Café Siebenstern in Vienna-Neubau. In the same district in the ’25hours’ hotel, Lijst DNA will also celebrate election night from 4 p.m.

After the trend forecasts are published at 5 p.m., all seven main candidates will meet at the House of the European Union in the city center. In the media center set up there, predictions for the election results in Austria and other EU countries are commented on and discussed. Austrian EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn will also be present.

Austrians rely on trends until 11 p.m
Results may only be published after 11 p.m. Forecasts will be used in most European countries, including in Austria: the APA news agency, the public broadcaster ORF and the private broadcaster Puls24 will jointly publish a trend forecast on the election results immediately after the elections.

The basis for this is formed by election day studies by the Foresight Institute, ARGE Elections and Peter Hajek. Approximately 3,600 interviews are used for this, which were collected during election week (June 3 to 9).

Numerous TV shows planned
To fill the long evening for the viewers, numerous election programs are scheduled on all TV channels.

• The first round of discussions between the party leaders can be seen on Puls4 at 5:30 PM.
• A round of top candidates is scheduled at ORF at 6 p.m.
• The first predictions from the Member States (14 countries have polling stations that close at 6 p.m.) are expected from 6:15 p.m. This will be followed by further rounds of the top candidates, an updated voter trend forecast for Austria and other EU-wide predictions from 6.30pm on Puls4 and other channels.
• Puls4 will bring a panel of federal politicians at 8:15 p.m. The panel of editors-in-chief is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. The provisional results must be known from 11:15 p.m.

krone.at reports on the election Sunday until late at night.