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2nd LD Writethru: Green party backed candidate beats right wing in Austrian presidential election

Xinhua, May 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Austrians rejected a possible right wing president in the 2016 presidential election.

The Russian descendant backed by the green party was elected to be the next president by getting only slightly higher ballots than the free party candidate, according to Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka's announcement on Monday.

In the neck and neck race, Alexander Van der Bellen got 50.3 percent ballots, only 31,026 ballots more than Norbert Hofer's 49.7 percent votes. The intense breathtaking presidential election is the main focus of the small central EU country.

Van der Bellen was born in Vienna in 1944, his grandfather was a politician who once lived in Russia but left his country with families and Van der Bellen's parents finally settled in Austria.

In 1976 he was appointed associate professor at the University of Innsbruck and became professor of economics at the University of Vienna.

After his career in the university, Van der Bellen started his career as a politician by join the Social Democratic Party (SPO), but he switched to green party and became the chief of the party, but he resigned after the September 2008 election.

In 2010 he became Commissioner of the City of Vienna for Universities and Research.

Van der Bellen is supposed to be the first environmental activist to become Austrian president, and will be the first president of the state since the Second World War who is not backed by the main stream ruling parties.

Austria president is seen more or less as a ceremonial role of the country but could swear the chancellor and even dismiss the cabinet, the most significant clout which hasn't been used by presidents after the war.

Meanwhile, Norbert Hofer, the youngest candidate of the election from the right wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), conceded defeat.

Hofer said in his Facebook account: "I would remain loyal to you and making a contribution to a positive Austria. Please do not be discouraged, the use of this election campaign is not lost but an investment for the future."

Although the right wing failed to get access to the president office, but the election shows a split EU state in the politic map. Endit