2014 Vorarlberg state election

2014 Vorarlberg state election

21 September 2014
All 36 seats in the Landtag of Vorarlberg 19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	171,765 (64.3%) 4.1%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Markus Wallner Dieter Egger Johannes Rauch Party ÖVP FPÖ Greens Last election 20 seats, 50.8% 9 seats, 25.1% 4 seats, 10.6% Seats won 16 9 6 Seat change 4 0 2 Popular vote 71,205 39,892 29,193 Percentage 41.8% 23.4% 17.1% Swing 9.0% 1.7% 6.5%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Michael Ritsch Sabine Scheffknecht Party SPÖ NEOS Last election 3 seats, 10.0% Did not exist Seats won 3 2 Seat change 0 2 Popular vote 14,948 11,742 Percentage 8.8% 6.9% Swing 1.2% New party
ÖVP (black) and FPÖ (blue) results by municipality. Darker shades indicate a stronger vote share.
Governor before election Markus Wallner ÖVP Elected Governor Markus Wallner ÖVP

The 2014 Vorarlberg state election was held on 21 September 2014 to elect the members of the Landtag of Vorarlberg.

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) suffered substantial losses, and was deprived of its majority in the Landtag. The second-placed Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) retained their position with minor losses. The beneficiaries of the ÖVP's defeat were The Greens, who achieved a breakthrough result of 17.1%, and NEOS – The New Austria, which debuted at 6.9%.

Now lacking a majority, the ÖVP led by Governor Markus Wallner sought a coalition partner. They ultimately formed government with the Greens.

Background

In the 2009 election, the ÖVP saw a small downswing but retained its majority. The FPÖ double its share of the vote and became the second largest party, ahead of the SPÖ.

Electoral system

The 36 seats of the Landtag of Vorarlberg are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between four multi-member constituencies, corresponding to the districts of Vorarlberg. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hagenbach-Bischoff quota, with any remaining seats allocated at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

Name			Ideology	Leader	2009 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	ÖVP	Austrian People's Party Österreichische Volkspartei	Christian democracy	Markus Wallner	50.8%	20 / 36
	FPÖ	Freedom Party of Austria Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs	Right-wing populism Euroscepticism	Dieter Egger	25.1%	9 / 36
	GRÜNE	The Greens – The Green Alternative Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative	Green politics	Johannes Rauch	10.6%	4 / 36
	SPÖ	Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs	Social democracy	Michael Ritsch	10.0%	3 / 36

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, five parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.

• NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS)
• WIR – Platform for Families and Child Protection (WIR)
• Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ)
• Pirate Party of Austria (PIRAT)
• Men's Party (M)

Result

Party		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−
	Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)	71,205	41.79	–9.00	16	–4
	Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)	39,892	23.42	–1.70	9	±0
	The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE)	29,193	17.14	+6.56	6	+2
	Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)	14,948	8.77	–1.25	3	±0
	NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS)	11,743	6.89	New	2	New
	WIR – Platform for Families and Child Protection (WIR)	1,088	0.64	New	0	New
	Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ)	833	0.49	New	0	New
	Pirate Party of Austria (PIRAT)	795	0.47	+0.47	0	±0
	Men's Party (M)	672	0.39	New	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		1,396	–	–	–	–
Total		171,765	100	–	36	0
Registered voters/turnout		267,104	64.31	–4.13	–	–
Source: Vorarlberg Government

Popular vote ÖVP   41.79% FPÖ   23.42% GRÜNE   17.14% SPÖ   8.77% NEOS   6.89% Other   1.99%

Landtag seats ÖVP   44.44% FPÖ   25.00% GRÜNE   16.67% SPÖ   8.33% NEOS   5.56%

Results by constituency

Constituency	ÖVP		FPÖ		Grüne		SPÖ		NEOS		Others	Total seats
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%
Bludenz	45.6	3	22.6	1	12.0		11.0		6.6		2.3	4
Bregenz	43.9	5	22.6	2	16.2	2	9.0	1	6.6		1.7	10
Dornbirn	35.8	3	27.3	2	20.2	1	7.8		7.1		1.8	6
Feldkirch	41.3	4	22.0	2	19.4	2	7.8		8.3		2.3	8
Remaining seats		1		2		1		2		2		8
Total	41.8	16	23.4	9	17.1	6	8.8	3	6.9	2	2.0	36
Source: Vorarlberg Government