VP candidates fixed

Voters could still mix up the lists

Feldkirch's top candidates will not be the only ones vying for preferential votes in the state elections in the fall.(Bild: ÖVP/Bernd Hofmeister)

The lists of the Vorarlberg People's Party for the regional elections have been finalized. It is up to the voters to decide who will ultimately enter the state parliament. And with the preferential votes, the voters could still provide for the unexpected.

The Black Party won exactly 17 seats in the 2019 state elections, and if the latest polls are to be believed, at least three seats are likely to be lost after the elections in the fall. This raises the question of which candidates - minus the potential members of government who will resign their seats - now have the best prospects of winning a seat in the state parliament.

Preferential votes

• In addition to one vote for a party, every eligible voter can also cast up to five preferential votes in the Vorarlberg state parliament elections, but no more than two for the same candidate
• In the 2019 provincial election, the preferential votes resulted in 268 shifts with at least one place difference to the list position
• Simon Vetter (Greens) gained the most places in 2019. He improved from 10th to 6th place in the Dornbirn district, but still remained without a seat in the state parliament.

In the district of Bregenz, the ÖVP won five seats in the 2019 election. These are considered to be relatively well "secured", as Guido Flatz was only a few votes short of the sixth mandate at the time. In the fall, Veronika Marte, Bernhard Feuerstein, Christina Hörburger and Guido Flatz should be quite sure of their seats. Heidi Schuster-Burda, who received little support from the Lake Constance communities when the list was drawn up and was ranked behind Flatz, could possibly face a tight race.

Wiedl knows how it's done
Excitement is definitely on the cards in Dornbirn, where three seats were won in 2019. These would theoretically go to Hanno Lecher, Patrick Wiedl and Angelika Benzer. However, the Hohenems native's seat in the state parliament is anything but certain. If the ÖVP loses votes, the seats in Dornbirn and Feldkirch will be lost first.

While Benzer and Karin Feurstein-Pichler from Dornbirn only won a few preferential votes in 2019, Patrick Wiedl from Lustenau won over 2,000 and overtook both Feurstein-Pichler and Arno Gächter. The latter was thus denied a place in the Vorarlberg state parliament.

Contested third mandate
In the district of Feldkirch (four seats in 2019), the experienced campaigners Harald Sonderegger and Clemens Ender are unlikely to leave anything to chance. The question of how Wolfgang Flach will fare promises to be exciting. The Feldkirch man was ranked behind Gerda Schnetzer-Sutterlüty from Sulz, much to the displeasure of his city party.

Monika Vonier, Andrea Schwarzmann and Harald Witwer have the best prospects of winning a seat in the state parliament in the Bludenz district (three seats in 2019). Cenk Dogan and Karin Feurstein-Pichler from Bludenz are on the state list (two seats in 2019). However, it is unlikely that the ÖVP will win two seats again.