Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) was declared the wrong winner in the presidential election on Saturday. Voting results are shared in an Excel file.
All weekend, Hans-Peter Doskozil, 52, representative of the center wing of the left-wing party, was celebrating his victory. He was believed to have secured 53 percent of the vote at the party convention. But on Monday, the party had to admit that Andries Babler (50), who has a left-wing profile, had pulled it off.
“Due to a technical error by an employee in the Excel file, the results were altered,” explained SPÖ Electoral Commission Chair Michaela Grubisa, embarrassed. The error was caught during the recount.
Doskozil spoke of “a low point for Austrian Social Democracy”, but congratulated Babler.
SPÖ has already offered several Austrian chancellors, but has been in opposition since 2017.
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