Austrian presidential election, 1951

The Austrian presidential elections of 1951 marked the first time that the President of Austria was elected by popular vote. A constitutional amendment in 1929 would have seen the President being elected directly, however a planned popular election in 1931 was cancelled and moved to the parliament, since it was deemed too expensive.[1] After the suspension of the constitution in 1934[2] and Austria ceasing to exist in 1938, the first presidential elections by popular vote were to be held in 1945. Because the Allied council did not approve on the constitutional law passed by the National Council, the election was again held by the Federal Council of Austria.[3] With no candidate achieving a majority of the votes, a second round was held on 27 May 1951. It saw socialist Theodor Körner, mayor of Vienna, defeating the governor of Upper Austria, Heinrich Gleißner of the Austrian People's Party.[4]

Results

 Summary of the 6 and 27 May 1951 Austrian presidential election results
Candidates and affiliated parties 1st round 2nd round
Votes % Votes %
Theodor Körner Socialist Party of Austria 1,682,881 39.15% 2,178,631 52.06%
Heinrich Gleißner Austrian People's Party 1,725,451 40.14% 2,006,322 47.94%
Burghard Breitner Federation of Independents 662,501 15.41%
Gottlieb Fiala Communist Party of Austria 219,969 5.12%
Johannes Ude Independent 5,413 0.13%
Ludovica Hainisch Independent 2,132 0.05%
Total 4,298,347 100% 4,184,953 100%
Valid votes 4,298,347 98.35% 4,184,953 95.70%
Spoilt and null votes 72,227 1.65% 188,241 4.30%
Votes cast / turnout 4,370,574 96.83% 4,373,194 96.89%
Electorate 4,513,597 4,513,597
Source: Austrian Ministry of the Interior, detailed Results

References

  1. AUSTRIA: Economy, TIME, 19 October 1931. Retrieved 21 May 2010
  2. countrystudies.us Austria, The Federal President. Retrieved 21 May 2010]
  3. Austrian Ministry of the Interior - Presidential Elections, Historical Overview. Retrieved 21 May 2010. (in German)
  4. AUSTRIA: New President, TIME, 4 June 1951. Retrieved 21 May 2010


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