SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Indian tourist arrivals to Egypt jump 18.8% in H1-2025: ministry data    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



New elections in Austria: The right decision
Constitutional judges in Austria unanimously agreed that holding a repeat presidential election will strengthen trust in democracy. They were astounded by inconsistencies in the handling of the ballots.
Published in Daily News Egypt on 01 - 07 - 2016

Constitutional judges in Austria unanimously agreed that holding a repeat presidential election will strengthen trust in democracy. They were astounded by inconsistencies in the handling of the ballots.
"The scale of it completely surprised me," Austrian constitutional lawyer Heinz Mayer said in an interview with DW. Hearings in the constitutional court brought more and more misconduct to light. The former law professor from the University of Vienna explicitly welcomes the judges' strict verdict. "They have boosted faith in democracy: They took a clear stance and made a resolute decision," he said.
On Friday at noon, the president of Austria's constitutional court, Gerhard Holzinger, announced the most important decision of his career. Ermine fur resting on his shoulders, he uttered the words that have accorded Austria a third round in a hard-fought presidential campaign. "The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the May 22 election… has been upheld."
The court found irregularities in 14 of the 20 investigated constituencies; some 77,000 votes were affected. Green Party candidate Alexander van der Bellen had only led the right-wing populist Norbert Hofer by 30,863 votes, so judges could not rule out the possibility that the overall election result was distorted.
Election regulations were violated
In his statement, Holzinger said that although there was no evidence of manipulation, there were enough grievances to merit a rerun of the election. The constitutional court considers it unlawful, for example, to disclose preliminary results to journalists before polls close. On the day of the election, initial figures were revealed in social media outlets at 5:00 p.m., long before polling stations were officially closed. "This violates the freedom of choice," said Holzinger. Even more regrettable were the mistakes in the counting procedure. Ballots were sorted and counted too early, sometimes even in the absence of scrutineers who nevertheless documented correct proceedings in many cases.
"The election officials' boundless ignorance of the rules is inconceivable to me," said constitutional expert Heinz Mayer. His colleague Klaus Poier from the University of Graz told DW it was "frustrating to realize that election rules were violated on such a large scale." Both constitutional experts praise the court's decision. "In this way, democracy is being served better than if the judges had said, ‘They were just sloppy,'" said Klaus Poier. He recalled a similar case the United States in 2000, when the Supreme Court stopped the recount of disputed votes in the election between George W. Bush and Al Gore after reports of irregularities emerged. "In comparison, this decision is much better."
Hofer: A third of a president
Now that constitutional judges have made their decision, the Hofburg Palace, the residence and workplace of Austria's president, will temporarily be vacant from July 8 on, when the term of the outgoing president ends. Official duties will be carried out in the interim by a three-party committee consisting of top parliamentarians. This ironically makes Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) a third of a president. The triumvirate is made up of Hofer, National Council president Doris Bures of the Social Democrats (SPÖ), and Karlheinz Kopf of Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Hofer has already announced that he would not give up the position. "I will prove that I conduct myself in a non-partisan manner."
The Austrian government will set the date for the election rerun. There is no deadline ; however, preparing the ballots will take about 11 weeks, meaning the election could take place at the end of September or beginning of October. Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka expects a decision next week. He wants to implement the court's verdict immediately, which means there will be no preliminary results following the rerun; the outcome will only be announced after all votes have been counted.
Advantage for FPÖ
Both Alexander van der Bellen and Norbert Hofer were quick to praise the court's decision. "I respect the decision, that is clear," said van der Bellen, adding: "To make one thing clear – I expect to win a second time." His opponent Norbert Hofer said he has a "real desire for another election campaign."
It was Hofer's Free Democrats (FPÖ) who filed the appeal at the constitutional court. The party's lawyer sees this as a clear image boost. "The FPÖ has successfully challenged the election results and demanded a clean-up where sloppiness prevailed." Does that give them an advantage in the repeat election? Yes, said constitutional expert Heinz Mayer. "Now they can play up their image as guarantors of the rule of law." His colleague Klaus Poier is not so sure about that. "That is understandable political rhetoric but people can judge it easily. There was no proven manipulation."


Clic here to read the story from its source.