State election 2024: results and candidates in the Weiz district

State election 2024: results and candidates in the Weiz district

The state elections in Styria on November 24th ushered in a new chapter in the state's political landscape. In the Weiz district, exactly 72,384 citizens eligible to vote were called upon to cast their votes, which made voter turnout in the region an exciting event.

In total, 213,332 eligible voters were available to voters in the Eastern Styria constituency, which also includes the districts of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld and Southeast Styria. In Weiz, citizens were able to cast their votes at 107 polling stations. In addition to the regular votes, 13,782 voting cards were also issued, which significantly expanded the opportunity to cast votes.

The competitive mandates

A total of 48 mandates will be awarded in the new state parliament. Nine of these are in Eastern Styria, and the candidates are ready to fight for their places in the state parliament. The representatives of the ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ and the Greens were among the representatives of the last legislative period. These were Lukas Schnitzer, Franz Fartek, Silvia Karelly, Andreas Kinsky, Julia Paar, Hubert Lang (all ÖVP), as well as Wolfgang Dolesch and Cornelia Pigner (both SPÖ), Patrick Derler and Herbert Kober (both FPÖ) and Andreas Lackner (Greens). A striking change is that important players such as Hubert Lang and Cornelia Pigner are no longer available, which could influence the dynamics of the election.

The first projections were expected immediately after the polls closed at 4 p.m., and it may have been possible to determine which party received the most votes as early as Sunday evening. Ahead of the election, expectations were high as voters prepared for the results of an uncertain political future.

A crucial aspect of the election is the comparison with the results of the previous election in 2019. At that time, the ÖVP received 42.0 percent of the vote in the Weiz district, followed by the SPÖ with 22.9 percent, the FPÖ with 17.7 percent, the Greens with 10.2 percent, the Neos with 4.0 percent and the KPÖ with 3.2 percent. In the Eastern Styria constituency as a whole, the ÖVP even turned out to be the dominant force with 47.2 percent. However, this preference for the ÖVP could change with the upcoming results, especially given the extensive changes in the candidate lists.

The new state parliament in Styria is obliged to be sworn in by December 18th at the latest, which means that political parties must act quickly. The elections are an important indicator of the mood among the population and the future direction of regional politics. It remains to be seen how the voters' decision will affect the composition of the future state parliament. Further information and results about the election can be found at www.kleinezeitung.at.