Legal opinion says repeat vote in Styrian parliament was unlawful

A legal opinion has found that a repeated vote in the Styrian parliament was unlawful, ORF reported, prompting opposition parties to demand clarity on how the matter will be handled.

Constitutional lawyer Heinz Mayer said the original vote was valid, while the repeat vote ordered by Second President Werner Amon of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) was unlawful and invalid. He found no valid reason for holding it. A mistake by Third President Helga Ahrer of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) when reading out the item number did not change the result, as she announced the vote correctly.

The four opposition parties commissioned the opinion after the incident at last week’s session. Their parliamentary group leaders, Hannes Schwarz of the SPÖ, Sandra Krautwaschl of the Greens, Niko Swatek of NEOS and Claudia Klimt-Weithaler of the Communist Party (KPÖ), said they wanted a prompt decision on how to proceed and measures to prevent similar errors.

The dispute arose during a vote on the “Prohibition Act against Political Islam”. FPÖ and Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) members mistakenly voted against their own motion. An extraordinary meeting of the parliament’s presidium has not resolved the issue.