Austria elections likely to see President Van der Bellen reelected

Austrians head to the polls on October 9 to vote in a presidential election likely to see the incumbent, Alexander Van der Bellen, stay in office.

Van der Bellen is seen as a stable leader at a time of grave crisis when energy costs and inflation top voters' concerns in the Alpine nation, which is member of the European Union but is not part of the NATO security alliance, DW reports.

At his last campaign rally on October 7, Van der Bellen said, "The biggest competitor on Sunday will be the sofa".

Austria has a voting public of 6.4 million in a country of 9 million.

With ads proclaiming Van der Bellen is "the safe choice in stormy times," the one-time leader of the Greens is running as an independent.

Van der Bellen faces six challengers in the race, all of whom trailed him in the polls leading up to the vote. To avoid a run-off, he will have to secure more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round.

Most of Austria's major parties have backed Van der Bellen, except for the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ). The far right has instead put forth as a candidate Walter Rosenkranz, currently in second place in the polls with 15 per cent support.

Support for the FPÖ has declined since 2019 amid a corruption scandal that eventually forced former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz from power.

The Austrian president serves a term of six years in the largely ceremonial role.