Freedom Party's Narrow Victory in Austrian European Parliament Elections

The far-right Freedom Party narrowly won the European Parliament election in Austria with 25.5% of the vote, slightly ahead of the conservative People's Party (OVP) at 24.7%, and the Social Democrats at 23.3%, according to ORF. Initial projections had predicted a larger lead for the Freedom Party.

The count of votes cast in Austrian polling stations on Sunday plus a projection for postal ballots confirmed the far-right Freedom Party won the European Parliament election but by less than had been forecast, national broadcaster ORF said.

The Freedom Party secured 25.5% of the vote, narrowly ahead of the conservative People's Party (OVP) at 24.7% and the Social Democrats at 23.3%, ORF said. A polling-based forecast issued earlier on Sunday had shown the Freedom Party with a 3.5-percentage-point lead over the OVP.