2017 Graz local election

2017 Graz local election
← 2012 5 February 2017 2021 →
All 48 seats in the Gemeindesrat of Graz
25 seats needed for a majority
Turnout127,904 (57.4%)
Decrease 1.9%
  First party Second party Third party
 
FPÖ
Leader Siegfried Nagl Elke Kahr Mario Eustacchio
Party ÖVP KPÖ FPÖ
Last election 17 seats, 33.7% 10 seats, 19.9% 7 seats, 13.8%
Seats won 19 10 8
Seat change Increase 2 Steady 0 Increase 1
Popular vote 47,639 25,645 19,998
Percentage 37.8% 20.3% 15.9%
Swing Increase 4.1% Increase 0.5% Increase 2.1%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Tina Wirnsberger Michael Ehmann Niko Swatek
Party Greens SPÖ NEOS
Last election 6 seats, 12.1% 7 seats, 15.3% Did not exist
Seats won 5 5 1
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 2 Increase 1
Popular vote 13,254 12,668 4,966
Percentage 10.5% 10.0% 3.9%
Swing Decrease 1.6% Decrease 5.3% New party
Winning party by municipal district.
Mayor before election

Siegfried Nagl
ÖVP

Elected mayor

Siegfried Nagl
ÖVP

The 2017 Graz local election was held on 5 February 2017 to elect the members of the Gemeindesrat of Graz.

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) were the clear winners of the election, remaining the largest party with 38% of the vote. The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) remained the second largest party with 20%, while the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) rose to third place. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and The Greens both suffered losses. NEOS – The New Austria contested their first election in Graz, winning 4% and won one seat.[1]

Incumbent Mayor Siegfried Nagl of the ÖVP was re-elected, while Elke Kahr of the KPÖ remained deputy mayor.

Background

The Styrian constitution mandates that positions in municipal government (city councillors, German: Stadträten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government of Graz is a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualify for at least one city councillor.

In the 2012 election, the KPÖ became the second largest party in Graz with 20%. The ÖVP, SPÖ, and Greens all suffered losses, while the FPÖ and Pirate Party made gains. The city government was dominated by the ÖVP with three councillors, while the KPÖ, SPÖ, FPÖ, and Greens won one councillor each.

Electoral system

The 48 seats of the Gemeindesrat of Graz are elected via open list proportional representation with no electoral threshold.

Contesting parties

Name Ideology Leader 2012 result
Votes (%) Seats Councillors
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei 		Christian democracy Siegfried Nagl 33.7%
17 / 48
3 / 7
KPÖ Communist Party of Austria
Kommunistische Partei Österreichs 		Communism Elke Kahr 19.6%
10 / 48
1 / 7
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs 		Social democracy Michael Ehmann 15.3%
7 / 48
1 / 7
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs 		Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism 		Mario Eustacchio 13.8%
7 / 48
1 / 7
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative 		Green politics Tina Wirnsberger 12.1%
5 / 48
1 / 7
PIRAT Pirate Party of Austria
Piratenpartei Österreichs 		Pirate politics Philip Pacanda 2.7%
1 / 48

In addition to the parties already represented in the Gemeindesrat, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot:

  • NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS)
  • List WIR – Independent Citizens List Graz (WIR)
  • Einsparkraftwerk (ESK)
  • Tatjana Petrovic

Results

Results by party.
Party Votes % +/− Seats +/− Coun. +/−
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 47,639 37.79 +4.05 19 +2 3 ±0
Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) 25,645 20.34 +0.48 10 ±0 2 +1
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 19,998 15.86 +2.11 8 +1 1 ±0
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 13,254 10.51 –1.63 5 –1 1 ±0
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 12,668 10.05 –5.26 5 –2 0 –1
NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) 4,966 3.94 New 1 New 0 New
Pirate Party of Austria (PIRAT) 1,368 1.09 –1.61 0 –1 0 ±0
List WIR – Independent Citizens List Graz (WIR) 250 0.20 New 0 New 0 New
Einsparkraftwerk (ESK) 166 0.13 –0.06 0 ±0 0 ±0
Tatjana Petrovic 115 0.09 New 0 New 0 New
Invalid/blank votes 1,835 – – – – – –
Total 127,904 100 – 48 0 7 0
Registered voters/turnout 222,856 57.39 +1.92 – – – –
Source: Stadt Graz
Popular vote
ÖVP
 
 37.79%
KPÖ
 
 20.34%
FPÖ
 
 15.86%
GRÜNE
 
 10.51%
SPÖ
 
 10.05%
NEOS
 
 3.94%
Other
 
 1.51%
Gemeindesrat seats
ÖVP
 
 39.58%
KPÖ
 
 20.83%
FPÖ
 
 16.67%
GRÜNE
 
 10.42%
SPÖ
 
 10.42%
NEOS
 
 2.08%

Results by district

District ÖVP KPÖ FPÖ Grüne SPÖ NEOS Others Turnout
I. Innere Stadt 33.7 28.6 11.4 13.8 4.7 5.2 2.6 59.8
II. St. Leonhard 34.2 26.7 9.7 15.1 6.2 5.8 2.4 61.9
III. Geidorf 36.5 23.8 10.5 14.2 7.4 5.9 1.8 61.7
IV. Lend 27.6 25.7 18.4 9.4 14.5 3.0 1.5 49.7
V. Gries 27.1 28.3 19.1 8.6 12.1 3.0 1.8 43.6
VI. Jakomini 30.4 27.3 14.5 11.6 9.9 4.5 1.9 53.9
VII. Liebenau 42.2 15.1 21.1 5.4 12.6 2.5 1.0 54.9
VIII. St. Peter 42.1 18.5 13.2 13.0 8.2 3.6 1.4 67.1
IX. Waltendorf 48.1 15.3 13.2 10.7 6.6 4.3 1.8 68.8
X. Ries 47.4 15.8 13.6 10.8 7.4 3.9 1.1 64.4
XI. Mariatrost 47.9 16.1 11.5 12.2 5.7 5.3 1.2 68.9
XII. Andritz 44.9 15.3 14.9 9.8 9.6 4.1 1.4 68.2
XIII. Gösting 37.2 16.1 23.1 6.1 14.1 2.3 1.1 54.2
XIV. Eggenberg 34.3 20.1 21.4 8.0 12.1 2.9 1.2 54.0
XV. Wetzelsdorf 37.2 16.1 24.3 5.2 13.6 2.5 1.1 55.2
XVI. Straßgang 40.6 12.8 23.1 5.1 14.5 2.9 1.0 57.5
XVII. Puntigam 38.0 15.5 25.4 5.5 11.7 2.5 1.5 50.8
Total 37.8 20.3 15.9 10.5 10.1 3.9 1.5 57.4
Source: Stadt Graz

References

  1. ^ ""Difficult hours for the Graz SPÖ"". ORF. 6 February 2017.