National Council election regulations
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | National Council election regulations 1992 |
| Long title: | Federal law on the election of the National Council |
| Abbreviation: | NRWO |
| Type: | Federal law |
| Scope: | Republic of Austria |
| Legal matter: | Public law |
| Reference: | Federal Law Gazette No. 471/1992 |
| Date of law: | 4th August 1992 |
| Effective date: | May 1, 1993 |
| Last change: | Federal Law Gazette I No. 32/2018 |
| Legal text: | NRWO |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version ! | |
The Austrian federal law on the election of the National Council (Nationalrat election regulation 1992 - NRWO) , colloquially referred to as the Nationalrat election regulation , is the federal law that has been in force since 1992 and regulates the election for the composition of the National Council for the following legislative period (currently XXV . The National Council consists of 183 members of the National Council (abbreviated to: National Council members), who are elected via the nominations submitted by the participating parties to the Federal Ministry of the Interior prior to the election , the number of which is determined by the mandates resulting from the election.
Essential regulations
- Electoral system : proportional representation with associated federal, state and regional lists
-
Particularities:
- There is a three-tier distribution of seats in 39 regional constituencies, nine state constituencies (= federal states ) and at the federal level, with the seats of a lower level being counted towards the higher.
- Overhang mandates are deducted from the mandate quota of the other parties .
- no voice splitting
- Number of MPs : 183 seats in the National Council
- Election period : the legislative period has been five years since the XXIV GP (Federal Law Gazette 27/2007) (previously four years)
- Active voting rights from 16 and passive from 18 years.
- Number of votes: According to Section 36, every person entitled to vote has only one vote (party vote). In addition, according to Section 79 (1), he can assign one preferential vote for an applicant on the federal party list, state party list and regional party list of the party he has elected.
- The entire electoral area is divided into nine state constituencies ( federal states ) and 39 regional constituencies. Before the election, each state constituency is assigned as many of the 183 mandates as there are residents there after the last census , using the quota method according to the largest fraction. These mandates are subdivided accordingly to the regional constituencies (this distribution to the regional constituencies before the election, however, does not affect the distribution of the mandates).
Running for election
Declarations of support from three parliamentarians entitle a party to stand for candidacy in all nine federal states. Section 42 (2) of the National Council election regulations also enables candidacy in individual federal states upon presentation of a fixed number of declarations of support. So z. B. for Vorarlberg or Burgenland 100 support signatures each, for Vienna or Lower Austria 500 support signatures are presented (for all nine federal states together there is a total of 2,600 declarations of support). These must be submitted by the 37th day before the election date.
Electoral authority and ranking of the parties on the ballot paper
In accordance with the National Council election regulations, the federal electoral authority determines how the parties are ranked on the ballot paper. The state electoral authorities have to follow their decision. The federal electoral authority consists of the interior minister as chairman (also the federal returning officer) and seventeen assessors, who are composed of two judges and fifteen members nominated by the parties represented in the National Council.
For the ranking of the campaigning parties, § 49 NRWO specifies:
- (3) [On the ballot paper], the order of the parties that were represented in the last elected National Council must be based on the number of seats that the parties achieved in the last National Council election in the whole of Germany.
- (5) The distinguishing party names are to be preceded by the words “List 1, 2, 3 etc.” in consecutive numbering. If a party represented in the last elected National Council does not participate in the election campaign, only the list number assigned to it according to Paragraph 3 and the word “empty” next to it has to appear in the publication.
The ranking of the parties not represented in the National Council for election depends on the date of the submission of the election proposal of the respective party.
Election process
Participation in the election
Only those eligible to vote whose names are included in the completed electoral roll may participate in the election (Section 36). The prerequisite for participating in the election is therefore the active right to vote for the National Council and entry in the electoral roll.
Those entitled to vote must be entered in the electoral roll, namely in the electoral roll of the place where the person entitled to vote has his / her main residence on the reference date (§§ 23f). The electoral rolls are to be put up in the municipalities and announced in the residential buildings. Any citizen can object to the electoral roll. The objection seeker can request the inclusion of a person entitled to vote in the electoral roll or the deletion of a person who is not eligible to vote from the electoral roll (Section 28). After the completion of any objection proceedings, the municipality must complete the electoral roll; the completed electoral roll is then the basis for the election (§ 34).
Place and time of voting
Every congregation is an election site; larger municipalities are to be divided into electoral districts to facilitate the election. Every person entitled to vote has to exercise his right to vote in the place where he is entered in the electoral roll (§ 37). There is also the option of postal voting from within Germany and abroad.
The polling station must be suitable for carrying out the election. The furnishings required for carrying out the election, such as the table for the electoral authority, a table for the election witnesses near it, the ballot box and the necessary voting booths with furnishings, as well as a table for the election observers, must be provided by the municipality. It is also important to ensure that a suitable waiting room is available for voters in the polling station building (Section 54). In addition, a polling station is to be provided in each municipality in which the voters provided with voting cards have to exercise their voting rights (Section 56).
According to § 57 there must be at least one voting booth in every polling station . The voting booth is to be set up in such a way that the voter in the booth can fill out the ballot paper and put it in the voting envelope, unobserved by anyone else in the polling station. If specially constructed, fixed cells are not available for this purpose, any screening device in the polling station that prevents the voter from observing the voting booth is sufficient as a voting booth. The voting booth can thus be formed in particular by simple wooden frames covered with opaque paper or fabric, by attaching a curtain in a corner of the room, by pushing together larger boxes, by setting up school boards accordingly. It may have to be set up in such a way that the voter can enter the cell from one side and exit from the other. The voting booth is to be provided with a table and a chair or a standing desk as well as a writing pad and equipped with the necessary material for filling in the voting slip (possibly colored pencil). In addition, the state party lists completed by the state electoral authority and published by it must be posted in a visible place in the voting booth.
In the building of the polling station and in a surrounding area to be determined by the municipal electoral authority (prohibited zone ) , any type of election advertising is permitted on election day, in particular by addressing the voters, posting or distributing election calls or lists of candidates, as well as any gathering or carrying weapons prohibited of any kind (Section 58).
The election act
Each voter appears before the electoral authority, gives his name, gives his home address and presents a document or other official certificate from which his identity is clearly evident. The following documents in particular come into consideration as documents or official certificates to establish identity: ID cards, passports and driver's licenses, in general all official photo IDs (Section 67).
The right to vote is to be exercised personally ; Blind or visually impaired voters are to be provided by the electoral authority as an aid to enable them to vote independently. Voters with physical or sensory disabilities are allowed to be guided by a person they can choose themselves and have to confirm to the election officer and to be helped with the voting process. Apart from these cases, a voting booth may only be entered by one person at a time (Section 66).
Validity and invalidity of the official ballot
An official ballot is valid if it can be clearly seen from it which party the voter wanted to vote. This is the case if the voter places a horizontal cross or other sign with a ballpoint pen, colored pencil, pencil or the like in one of the pre-printed circles under each party name, which clearly shows that he wants to vote for the party listed in the same column. However, the ballot slip is also validly filled out if the will of the voter can be clearly identified in another way, for example by ticking, underlining, other appropriate identification of a campaigning party, by crossing out the other campaigning parties or by designating at least one candidate from a party list (§ 78).
Constituencies
Basics
In Austria, a general election has been made in favor of proportional representation (Art 26 para 1 B-VG). This means that the mandates are divided among the campaigning groups in proportion to the votes cast for them . This proportionate assignment can be more or less pronounced in an electoral code. The division of the electoral area into constituencies (as laid down in the Federal Constitution) has the effect of weakening proportional representation.
The division into regional constituencies in the Federal Constitution after the First World War was a concession to the earlier majority voting system with small constituencies. In 1992, proportionality was strengthened by introducing a third investigation procedure for the entire federal territory ("proportional adjustment", Art 26 para 2 B- VG, see below ).
In the opinion of the Constitutional Court, the formation of very small constituencies is unconstitutional. This is because with very small constituencies, the requirements for a basic mandate (a mandate in one of the regional constituencies, hurdle for entry into the National Council) would be too high.
Distribution of mandates to the constituencies
For the National Council election, the federal territory is divided into electoral districts, namely into nine state and 39 regional electoral districts (Art 26 para 2 B-VG, § 3 para 2 NRWO). Up to and including the National Council election in 2008 there were 43 regional constituencies; the 2012 electoral law adjustment law reduced the number of regional constituencies in Styria by four. The 183 mandates of the National Council to be awarded must then (according to the Hare system) be divided between these constituencies. First, the mandates are to be distributed among the state constituencies. For this purpose, the so-called number of citizens of the respective federal state, as well as that of the entire federal area, must first be determined: The number of citizens results from the addition of
- Citizens who, according to the results of the last census, had their main residence in the respective constituency or in the federal territory, and the number of
- Citizens living abroad who were entered in the electoral register on the reference date.
Then the ratio is to be determined by dividing the number of citizens of the federal territory by 183. Finally, the number of citizens of the state constituency is to be divided by the ratio; this gives the number of mandates in the state constituency. If mandates remain “over”, they are to be distributed in the order of the three-digit decimal point. If there are several decimal remainders of the same size for the last mandate to be awarded, the decision is made by lot (§ 3 Paragraph 4 NRWO).
The mandates distributed to the state constituencies are to be distributed to the regional constituencies according to the same system.
The distribution of mandates is announced in the Federal Law Gazette.
The current distribution follows the 2011 census and is as follows:
| State constituencies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Constituency | designation | Mandates |
| 1 | Burgenland | 7th |
| 2 | Carinthia | 13 |
| 3 | Lower Austria | 37 |
| 4th | Upper Austria | 32 |
| 5 | Salzburg | 11 |
| 6th | Styria | 27 |
| 7th | Tyrol | 15th |
| 8th | Vorarlberg | 8th |
| 9 | Vienna | 33 |
| Regional constituencies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | designation | Mandates | Districts |
| 1 A | Burgenland North | 4th | Eisenstadt , Eisenstadt area , Mattersburg , Neusiedl am See , Rust |
| 1 B | Burgenland South | 3 | Güssing , Jennersdorf , Oberpullendorf , Oberwart |
| 2 A | Klagenfurt | 3 | Klagenfurt am Wörthersee , Klagenfurt-Land |
| 2 B | Villach | 3 | Villach , Villach-Land |
| 2 C | Carinthia West | 3 | Feldkirchen , Hermagor , Spittal an der Drau |
| 2 D | Carinthia East | 4th | Sankt Veit an der Glan , Völkermarkt , Wolfsberg |
| 3 A | Weinviertel | 5 | Hollabrunn , Korneuburg , Mistelbach |
| 3 B | Waldviertel | 5 | Gmünd , Horn , Krems an der Donau , Krems-Land , Waidhofen an der Thaya , Zwettl |
| 3 C | Mostviertel | 6th | Amstetten , Melk , Scheibbs , Waidhofen an der Ybbs |
| 3 D | Lower Austria center | 7th | Lilienfeld , St. Pölten , St. Pölten-Land , Tulln |
| 3 E. | Lower Austria South | 5 | Neunkirchen , Wiener Neustadt , Wiener Neustadt-Land |
| 3 F | Thermal region | 5 | Baden , Mödling |
| 3 G | Lower Austria East | 4th | Bruck an der Leitha , Gänserndorf |
| 4 A | Linz and the surrounding area | 7th | Linz, Linz-Land |
| 4 B | Innviertel | 5 | Braunau am Inn, Ried im Innkreis, Schärding |
| 4 C | Hausruckviertel | 8th | Eferding, Grieskirchen, Vöcklabruck, Wels, Wels-Land |
| 4 D | Traunviertel | 6th | Gmunden, Kirchdorf an der Krems, Steyr, Steyr-Land |
| 4 E. | Mühlviertel | 6th | Freistadt, Perg, Rohrbach, Urfahr area |
| 5 A | Salzburg city | 3 | Salzburg |
| 5 B | Flachgau / Tennengau | 4th | Hallein, Salzburg area |
| 5 C | Lungau / Pinzgau / Pongau | 4th | St. Johann im Pongau, Tamsweg, Zell am See |
| 6 A | Graz and surroundings | 9 | Graz, Graz area |
| 6 B | Eastern Styria | 6th | Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, Southeast Styria, Weiz |
| 6 C | West Styria | 4th | Deutschlandsberg, Leibnitz, Voitsberg |
| 6 D | Upper Styria | 8th | Bruck-Mürzzuschlag, Leoben, Liezen, Murau, Murtal |
| 7 A | innsbruck | 2 | innsbruck |
| 7 B | Innsbruck country | 5 | Innsbruck-Land, Schwaz |
| 7 C | Unterland | 4th | Kitzbühel, Kufstein |
| 7 D | Oberland | 3 | Imst, Landeck, Reutte |
| 7 E. | East Tyrol | 1 | Lienz |
| 8 A | Vorarlberg North | 4th | Bregenz, Dornbirn |
| 8 B | Vorarlberg south | 4th | Bludenz, Feldkirch |
| 9 A | Vienna inner-south | 3 | Landstrasse, Margareten, Wieden |
| 9 B | Vienna Inner West | 3 | Alsergrund, Inner City, Josefstadt, Mariahilf, new building |
| 9 C | Vienna Inner East | 3 | Brigittenau, Leopoldstadt |
| 9 D | Vienna south | 7th | Favorites, Meidling, Simmering |
| 9 E. | Vienna south-west | 6th | Hietzing, Liesing, Penzing, Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus |
| 9 F. | Vienna north-west | 5 | Döbling, Hernals, Ottakring, Währing |
| 9 G | Vienna north | 6th | Donaustadt, Floridsdorf |
Preliminary investigation
The Austrian National Council election regulations provide for a three-stage investigation (V main part, §92-§113 NRWO).
First preliminary investigation (regional constituency)
In the state constituency (federal state) - each individually - a number of votes is determined: Valid votes cast are divided by the number of mandates assigned to the state constituency and the result is increased to the next whole number, i.e. at least rounded up (§ 96 (4) NRWO ). The mandates assigned to each federal state are based on the last census (§ 4 NRWO).
| state | Mandates | valid votes | Votes per mandate | Election number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgenland | 7th | 183,240 | 26,177.14 | 26,178 |
| Carinthia | 13 | 338,513 | 26,039.46 | 26,040 |
| Lower Austria | 35 | 937.447 | 26,784.2 | 26,785 |
| Upper Austria | 32 | 799,959 | 24,998.72 | 24,999 |
| Salzburg | 11 | 268.279 | 24,389 | 24,390 |
| Styria | 29 | 772.694 | 26,644.62 | 26,645 |
| Tyrol | 15th | 359.263 | 23,950.87 | 23,951 |
| Vorarlberg | 7th | 158,595 | 22,656.43 | 22,657 |
| Vienna | 34 | 815.124 | 23,974.24 | 23,975 |
In the first investigation, each party now receives as many mandates as the number of votes in its party total in the regional constituency (whole number) (§ 97 NRWO). There are a total of 39 regional constituencies.
Here using the example of the four regional constituencies in Carinthia and the two regional constituencies in Burgenland:
| Regional constituency | WK no | Bl | Mand. | be right | Election number | Mandates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| valid | SPÖ | ÖVP | FPÖ | GREEN | LIF | SPÖ | ÖVP | FPÖ | GREEN | LIF | |||||
| Burgenland North | 1A | 1 | 4th | 89,066 | 40,289 | 26,276 | 15,670 | 3,716 | 3.115 | 26,178 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burgenland South | 1B | 1 | 3 | 92,817 | 40,831 | 31,443 | 14,970 | 3,156 | 2,417 | 26,178 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Klagenfurt | 2A | 2 | 3 | 92,817 | 31,362 | 13,421 | 30,289 | 6,387 | 4,535 | 26,040 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Villach | 2 B | 2 | 3 | 73.402 | 31,786 | 9,045 | 24,277 | 4,497 | 2,941 | 26,040 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carinthia West | 2C | 2 | 3 | 79,464 | 28,989 | 15,781 | 27,471 | 3,873 | 2,716 | 26,040 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carinthia East | 2D | 2 | 4th | 98,601 | 41,646 | 17,152 | 31,419 | 5,087 | 2,603 | 26,040 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The allocation of mandates to the regional applicants of the regional party lists takes place in accordance with the preference votes: that is, to applicants who have half as many preferential votes as the number of elections or one sixth as many preferential votes as the votes valid for this party in the regional constituency concerned, the Mandates allocated in the order of preference votes. The remaining seats are allocated in the order of the regional party list.
Eligibility clause: According to §§ 100 (1), 107 (2) NRWO, only parties take part in the second and third investigation proceedings who have obtained a mandate in at least one of the regional constituencies or at least 4% of the valid votes cast in the entire federal territory.
Second preliminary investigation (state constituency)
Each party that has overcome the threshold clause receives as many mandates as the number of votes included in its party total in the state electoral district, minus the mandates obtained in the first preliminary investigation. The state list mandates go first to the applicants who have received at least as many preferential votes as the number of elections, in the order of the preferential votes, the other mandates in the order in which they are listed on the state party list.
| state | be right | valid votes | Mand. | Election number | Mandates (rounded off in brackets) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPÖ | ÖVP | FPÖ | Green | LIF | SPÖ | ÖVP | FPÖ | Green | LIF | Remaining mandates | |||||
| Burgenland | 81,120 | 57,719 | 30,640 | 6,872 | 5,532 | 183,240 | 7th | 26,178 | 3.1 (3) | 2.2 (2) | 1.17 (1) | 0.26 (0) | 0.21 (0) | 6th | 1 |
| Carinthia | 133,783 | 55,399 | 113.456 | 19,844 | 12,795 | 338,513 | 13 | 26,040 | 5.14 (5) | 2.13 (2) | 4.36 (4) | 0.76 (0) | 0.49 (0) | 11 | 2 |
| Lower Austria | 326,639 | 317.810 | 170,881 | 53,766 | 53,856 | 937.447 | 35 | 26,785 | 12.19 (12) | 11.87 (11) | 6.38 (6) | 2.01 (2) | 2.01 (2) | 33 | 2 |
| Upper Austria | 275,744 | 231.201 | 180.293 | 60,460 | 37,789 | 799,959 | 32 | 24,999 | 11.03 (11) | 9.25 (9) | 7.27 (7) | 2.42 (2) | 1.51 (1) | 30th | 2 |
| Salzburg | 83,256 | 77,768 | 64.182 | 21,841 | 17,038 | 268.279 | 11 | 24,390 | 3.41 (3) | 3.19 (3) | 2.63 (2) | 0.90 (0) | 0.70 (0) | 8th | 3 |
| Styria | 282,781 | 212.122 | 181.051 | 47,683 | 38,057 | 772.694 | 29 | 26,645 | 10.61 (10) | 7.96 (7) | 6.79 (6) | 1.79 (1) | 1.43 (1) | 25th | 4th |
| Tyrol | 87,728 | 130.218 | 79,269 | 34,293 | 18,998 | 359.263 | 15th | 23,951 | 3.66 (3) | 5.44 (5) | 3.31 (3) | 1.43 (1) | 0.79 (0) | 12 | 3 |
| Vorarlberg | 33,075 | 59,921 | 37,354 | 14,236 | 10,371 | 158,595 | 7th | 22,657 | 1.46 (1) | 2.64 (2) | 1.65 (1) | 0.63 (0) | 0.46 (0) | 4th | 3 |
| Vienna | 313,678 | 139,688 | 185.206 | 79,543 | 82,144 | 815.124 | 34 | 23,975 | 13.08 (13) | 5.83 (5) | 7.72 (7) | 3.32 (3) | 3.43 (3) | 31 | 3 |
| 61 | 46 | 37 | 9 | 7th | 160 | 23 | |||||||||
Third preliminary investigation
All 183 mandates nationwide are distributed to the parties using the divisor procedure with rounding off ( D'Hondt procedure ). If one party has already received more mandates in the second of the two investigative proceedings ( overhang mandates ), fewer seats will be allocated to other parties. The mandates calculated in the third preliminary investigation, minus the seats allocated in the first two preliminary investigation, are assigned to the applicants of the parties in the order of the federal election proposal.
Government formation
Under the Austrian Federal Constitution appoints President of the Federal Chancellor , who proposes the other members of the Federal Government. The Federal President is not bound by the majority in the National Council; However, since any incumbent federal government can be overthrown by a vote of no confidence by the National Council, stable government relationships are difficult to enforce against the will of the parliament. In the Second Republic, the representative of the parliamentary group with the largest number of mandates was traditionally commissioned to form a government.
After the parliamentary elections in 1999 showed that at an appropriate majority in the National Council to form a government of realpolitik also against the express political will of the President is possible, with the President, however, has under the Constitution both the right to reject any government, as well, on a proposal from the Federal government to dissolve the National Council.
swell
- ↑ National Council election regulations 1992 (in the current version) , Federal Law Gazette No. 471/1992 (version upon announcement)
- ↑ Federal Ministry of the Interior: Federal Electoral Authority
- ↑ The regulation with seventeen assessors has been in force since July 1, 2007; before that there were eleven assessors.
- ↑ a b Theo Öhlinger , Constitutional Law, 6th edition 2005, margin no.385
- ↑ VfGH Coll. 14.035 / 1995
- ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 53/2017
See also
Web links
- Legal information system of the Federal Chancellery (RIS)
- statistical election analysis and other topics of election research
- The mandate calculation procedure of the Austrian National Council election regulations
- Electoral system of the election of the National Council
- National Council election regulations (NRWO)
- NRWO on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior ( Memento from May 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
