Defeated Austrian right presidential candidate congratulates rival on victory

The right-wing candidate who narrowly lost the Austrian presidential election on the back of a final postal vote count on Monday has congratulated his rival and urged Austrians not to fight over the result.

In a brief statement made following a board meeting of his Freedom Party (FPO) on Tuesday, Norbert Hofer said he wishes president-elect Alexander Van der Bellen, to whom he lost by a very small margin, "all the best for this important work."

His party leader Heinz-Christian Strache also extended well-wishes to Van der Bellen, and said he hoped the president-elect would remain true to his promise to also represent the roughly 50 percent of voters who cast their ballot for the FPO candidate.

Hofer also urged supporters to respect the result of the election, following some heated comments in social media after Monday's election result.

"We should all stay together," he said, adding that he hoped "calm will return."

He also denied claims that his strong support in the election would result in him leading the FPO at the next federal election, saying that Strache is still the party leader, and that the goal is to make the FPO the strongest party in the country. Endit