Incumbent Austrian President Van der Bellen Leading in First Round of Election
(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 17, 2021 Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen addresses a joint press conference with the Israeli President at the Hofburg palace in Vienna. 
VIENNA (Sputnik) – Incumbent Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen is leading in the first round of presidential election, receiving a majority of votes, according to provisional data from exit polls after polling stations were closed across Austria.Projections published by the OE24.TV broadcaster show that Van der Bellen, who has held office since 2016, receives 53-56% of the votes, which allows him to be reelected for his second and last term, avoiding a runoff vote.The incumbent president is followed by Walter Rosenkranz from the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party, who gets 17-20%, according to the data. The leader of the Beer Party and punk rocker Dominik Wlazny is in the third place with 8-11% of the votes.To win the election, a candidate must receive the majority of votes. If no one gets more than 50% of the votes in the first round, the winner is decided in the runoff.Seven candidates for the Austrian presidency were on the ballot in the election on Sunday. The president of Austria is elected every six years. Although the office of the president has great power under the Austrian Constitution, in practice he is a ceremonial and symbolic figure in the country’s political system.
