2026 Graz local election
Election in Graz, Austria
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The 2026 Graz local election will be held on 28 June 2026 to elect the members of the Gemeinderat of Graz.[1]
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28 June 2026
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All 48 seats in the Gemeinderat of Graz 25 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
In the 2021 election, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) became the largest party for the first time in the city's history, winning almost 29% of votes cast. The previous governing party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), fell from 38% to second place with 26%. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) also suffered losses and finished in fourth place on 11%, while The Greens moved into third with 17%. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) recorded a slight decline to 9.5%. NEOS – The New Austria won 5.4% and gained a second seat.[2][3]
The KPÖ subsequently formed a coalition with the Greens and SPÖ, and Elke Kahr was elected mayor by the Gemeinderat on 17 November with 28 out of 46 votes. She became the first female mayor of Graz and the first communist mayor of an Austrian city.[4][5]
Electoral system
In Graz, the 48 seats of the Gemeinderat are elected by open list proportional representation with no electoral threshold. The mayor (Bürgermeister) is elected by the Gemeinderat from among its members using a majority vote.
The municipal executive (Stadtsenat) consists of the mayor and seven city councillors (Stadträte). Under the Proporz mandated by the constitution of Styria, these seven positions are allocated proportionally among parties according to their share of the vote, resulting in a permanent multi-party executive.
Contesting parties
| Name | Leader | 2021 result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | Councillors | ||||
| KPÖ | Communist Party of Austria Kommunistische Partei Österreichs |
Elke Kahr | 28.8% | 15 / 48 |
3 / 7 | |
| ÖVP | Austrian People's Party Österreichische Volkspartei |
Kurt Hohensinner | 25.9% | 13 / 48 |
2 / 7 | |
| GRÜNE | The Greens – The Green Alternative Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative |
Judith Schwentner | 17.3% | 9 / 48 |
1 / 7 | |
| FPÖ | Freedom Party of Austria Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs |
Rene Apfelknab | 10.6% | 5 / 48 |
1 / 7 | |
| SPÖ | Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs |
Doris Kampus | 9.5% | 4 / 48 |
0 / 7 | |
| NEOS | NEOS – The New Austria NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum |
Philipp Pointner | 5.4% | 2 / 48 |
0 / 7 | |
Opinion polling
Results
| Party | Votes | % | +/− | Seats | +/− | Coun. | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) | ||||||||
| Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) | ||||||||
| The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) | ||||||||
| Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) | ||||||||
| Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) | ||||||||
| NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) | ||||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | – | 48 | – | 7 | – | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Source: | ||||||||