2004 Vorarlberg state election

Election in Vorarlberg, Austria 2004 Vorarlberg state election Vorarlberg state parliamentary 1999 Vorarlberg state election 1999 2009 Vorarlberg state election 2009 19 September 2004 All 36 seats in the Landtag of Vorarlberg 19 147,047 (60.6%) 27.2% 170x170px Herbert Sausgruber Austrian People's Party 18 seats, 45.8% 80,112 21 3 54.9% 9.2% Elke Sader Social Democratic Party of Austria 5 seats, 13.0% 6 1 24,609 16.9% 3.9% 170x170px Dieter Egger Freedom Party of Austria 11 seats, 27.4% 5 6 18,881 12.9% 14.5% 170x170px Johannes Rauch The Greens – The Green Alternative 2 seats, 6.0% 4 2 14,829 10.2% 4.1% Governor Herbert Sausgruber Austrian People's Party Herbert Sausgruber Austrian People's Party The 2004 Vorarlberg state election was held on 19 September 2004 to elect the members of the Landtag of Vorarlberg in Austria. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) regained the absolute majority it had lost in 1999, achieving a strong swing of 9 percentage points. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) lost more than half its vote share and seats, falling to third place behind the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which gained four points. The Greens also gained four points and doubled their seat count from two to four. The repeal of compulsory voting resulted in a huge decline in voter turnout, which fell from 87% to 60%. As a result, only the Greens actually gained votes compared to 1999; the ÖVP lost 7,000 votes, the SPÖ 200, and the FPÖ 33,000. According to voter analysis conducted by the SORA Institute, only 28% of the FPÖ's voters from 1999 voted for the party again in 2004, while more than half did not vote at all. Background In the 1999 election, the ÖVP lost its absolute majority for the first time in history. The FPÖ achieved its best ever result, taking support from the ÖVP and SPÖ. The ÖVP subsequently formed a coalition with the FPÖ. 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 1999 result Votes (%) Seats ÖVP Austrian People's PartyÖsterreichische Volkspartei Christian democracy Herbert Sausgruber 45.8% 18 36 Austrian People's Party FPÖ Freedom Party of AustriaFreiheitliche Partei Österreichs Right-wing populismEuroscepticism Dieter Egger 27.4% 11 36 Freedom Party of Austria SPÖ Social Democratic Party of AustriaSozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs Social democracy Elke Sader 13.0% 5 36 Social Democratic Party of Austria GRÜNE The Greens – The Green AlternativeDie Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative Green politics Johannes Rauch 6.0% 2 36 The Greens – The Green Alternative In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. VAU – www.vau-heute.at (VAU) List of Free Citizens (LFB) List for all Dissatisfied and Self-thinking (FRIZZ) DBK – The Buntkarierten (DBK) – on the ballot only in Bludenz, Dornbirn, and Feldkirch Result centerParty Votes % +/− Seats +/− Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 80,112 54.92 +9.16 21 +3 Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 24,609 16.87 +3.88 6 +1 Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 18,881 12.94 –14.47 5 –6 The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 14,829 10.17 +4.14 4 +2 VAU – www.vau-heute.at (VAU) 3,046 2.09 –0.19 0 ±0 List for all Dissatisfied and Self-thinking (FRIZZ) 2,806 1.92 +0.70 0 ±0 List of Free Citizens (LFB) 1,373 0.94 New 0 New DBK – The Buntkarierten (DBK) 207 0.14 New 0 New Invalid/blank votes 1,184 – – – – Total 147,047 100 – 36 0 Registered voters/turnout 242,509 60.64 –27.17 – –Source: Vorarlberg Government Popular vote #ddd 500px 400px ÖVP Austrian People's Party 54.92 SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria 16.87 FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria 12.94 GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative 10.17 Other #777777 5.10 Landtag seats #ddd 500px 400px ÖVP Austrian People's Party 58.33 SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria 16.67 FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria 13.89 GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative 11.11 Results by constituency Constituency ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ Grüne Others % % % % % Bludenz 54.8 19.9 13.6 7.7 3.9 Bregenz 58.0 16.2 11.0 9.5 5.3 Dornbirn 51.9 15.8 15.4 10.8 6.0 Feldkirch 53.2 16.5 13.1 12.2 5.0 Total 54.9 16.9 12.9 10.2 5.1 Source: Vorarlberg Government References Vorarlberg state election Category:State elections in Austria Vorarlberg state election