Waidhofen sets council election for January 2027

Voters in Waidhofen an der Ybbs will elect a new municipal council on 24 January 2027, ORF reported, citing the city administration. The city senate set the date on Wednesday.

The statutory city holds its council election separately from Lower Austria’s statewide municipal elections. Forty seats are up for election. A proposal to cut the council to 33 seats to reduce costs was rejected by the state of Lower Austria this year.

At the previous election, on 30 January 2022, the ÖVP lost its absolute majority, while MFG won third place on its first appearance. Seven lists contested the vote. The ÖVP, led by Mayor Werner Krammer, fell from 60.24 per cent to 41.29 per cent, losing eight of its 26 seats. The SPÖ rose from 15.46 per cent to 21.69 per cent, and MFG received 17.10 per cent.

Farblose Unabhängige Formierte Uniformierte, known as FUFU, won 11.25 per cent, up from 10.21 per cent. The FPÖ fell from 5.35 per cent to 4.03 per cent, while the Greens dropped by about one percentage point to 3.06 per cent. The Unabhängige Wahlgemeinschaft-Bürgerliste-Waidhofen/Ybbs received 1.60 per cent and lost its council seats. Turnout was 71.86 per cent.

The council currently has 18 ÖVP seats, nine for the SPÖ, seven for MFG, four for FUFU, one for the FPÖ and one for the Greens. The ÖVP holds five of the city senate’s 10 seats; the SPÖ and MFG have two each, and FUFU has one.

According to media reports, city councillor Wolfgang Durst, who ran for MFG in 2022, plans to stand this time with the Forum Waidhofen list.

For the first time in Waidhofen, only residents with a primary residence in the city will be eligible to vote, following a change to Lower Austria’s electoral law. Non-official ballot papers have also been abolished. Voters can apply for a postal ballot from 4 November, but ballots are expected to be issued and sent from late December or early January.