The deadline ended today

EU election: These parties still hope to be admitted

Pictured: Sample official ballot paper and sample ballot card for this year's EU elections.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The deadline for submitting declarations of support for the EU elections ended on Friday at 5 pm. It is now certain that seven parties will be allowed to stand in Austria. In addition to the National Council parties ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ, Greens and NEOS, these are the KPÖ and Liste DNA.

All parties that do not have the signatures of three members of the National Council or one EU representative had to submit the necessary 2,600 declarations of support to the Federal Electoral Authority by 5 p.m. in order to be on the ballot paper on June 9. 

This hurdle was cleared by the KPÖ with almost 4,000 signatures and the DNA list, which according to its own statement submitted 5,578 declarations of support on Tuesday. Among other things, DNA is calling for an independent investigation into coronavirus policy and an end to sanctions against Russia.

The KPÖ has collected almost 4,000 signatures.

VOLT, Öxit and EU withdrawal party failed
However, it was not enough for the VOLT Europe list, the Öxit EU Withdrawal for Austria alliance or the EU Withdrawal Party. VOLT said on Thursday that it had only collected 1,000 signatures so far. In this context, the list criticized the fact that the population would have to go to the municipal office to do so and that the offices have short opening hours.

These parties will be on the ballot paper on June 9.

Only eligible voters, i.e. all Austrians and other EU citizens with their main place of residence in the country who were registered as voters by the cut-off date (March 26) at the latest, could sign. The hurdle for collecting signatures for the EU elections is basically the same as for National Council elections.

These are the first parties on the list for the EU elections.

EU candidacy more difficult for small parties
However, running for the EU is more difficult for small parties: the whole of Austria is a single constituency in which 2600 signatures have to be collected. In National Council elections, a party with correspondingly fewer signatures can only run in individual federal states.

The ballot paper is not yet completely fixed. The election proposals were reviewed on Friday, but are still being carefully examined and are expected to be finalized on 8 May. They can then be printed.

To date, only 18 parties have made it onto the ballot paper in the six European elections held so far. Eight of them have won seats: the ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ and Greens have all been in the EU Parliament since 1996. The NEOS were added in 2014. The LIF was there from 1996 to 1999, the Hans-Peter Martins list from 2004 to 2014 - and the BZÖ from 2011 (when the Lisbon Treaty came into force) to 2014.