Austrians vote in presidential election as pro-EU camp eyes victory

Austrians have began voting in a presidential election expected to return incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen, seen as a beacon of stability as the Alpine EU member struggles with an energy crisis and inflation.

Polling stations opened at 0500 GMT (7am local time) on Sunday and close at 1500 GMT (5pm) with exit polls published once they close.

Campaigning on a slogan of "clarity", Van der Bellen is widely tipped to clinch a second mandate, with his six challengers – all men – lagging far behind.

"The biggest competitor on Sunday will be the sofa," the 78-year-old economics professor said on Friday at his last campaign rally, appealing to people to vote.

Polls put the pro-European liberal as securing more than 50 percent of the vote, thus avoiding a run-off vote.

Some 6.4 million people are eligible to cast their ballots from the country's total population of nine million.

'Stability'

Van der Bellen, also known as "Sascha", a nickname that nods to his Russian roots, was born during World War II in Vienna to an aristocratic Russian father and an Estonian mother who fled Stalinism.

He studied economics at the University of Innsbruck and finished his PhD in 1970 before going on to become dean of economics at the University of Vienna.

With posters proclaiming him "the safe choice in stormy times" amid an energy crisis pushing up inflation throughout Europe, the former Greens leader runs as an independent.

But he has the explicit or implicit backing of Austria's major parties except for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which has fielded its own candidate, Walter Rosenkranz, who is sitting in second place in the polls on 15 percent support.

"Van der Bellen stands for integrity and stability, which is very appreciated by voters given the multitude of crises that many European countries are currently facing," said Julia Partheymueller, a political analyst at the University of Vienna.

Known for his trademark professorial manner, he will be Austria's oldest head of state to be sworn in if he wins.

Van der Bellen, who supporters affectionately call "the professor", faced an unexpectedly tough fight in 2016, only winning the race in a run-off against an FPOe politician.

But the FPOe's ratings have plummeted since 2019 after a corruption scandal brought down the government they were part of and eventually led to the resignation of then-chancellor Sebastian Kurz himself in 2021.

For Austria's 2016 presidential election results, click here