Politics

Cenk Dogan has prospects of being elected to the state parliament

Candidates Michael Felder and Karin Feurstein-Pichler with Governor Markus Wallner, Cenk Dogan and Regional Managing Director Dietmar Wetz (from left).(Bild: ÖVP / Hofmeister)

Three incumbent city councillors lead the state list of the Vorarlberg People's Party. For the first time, the Young People's Party has no promising candidate in the race.  

The committees of the People's Party met two weeks ago to draw up the four district election lists for the state elections in the fall. As the "Krone" reported, there were few new names on these lists. Party leader Markus Wallner is traditionally the top candidate on all four lists. He is followed by the members of the provincial government and incumbent members of parliament from the respective districts. Only Guido Flatz, Mayor of Doren, has a good chance of entering the provincial parliament for the first time.

The state list is a little more exciting, with Councillors Cenk Dogan (Bludenz), Karin Feurstein-Pichler (Dornbirn) and Michael Felder (Bludenz) at the top of the list. First-placed Cenk Dogan has the best chance of entering the provincial parliament, as the respective candidates on a provincial list cannot be elected directly. It is therefore not possible to "overtake" them through preferential votes. Instead, the first-placed candidate on the state list receives the remaining votes from the four districts. If they fail there - as was the case for Guido Flatz in the Bregenz district in 2019 - by just a few votes, the men and women on the national list benefit.

We are running with a balanced team and are ideally positioned to consistently continue our independent Vorarlberg path.

Markus Wallner, Landesparteiobmann

In previous elections, the Junge ÖVP has always secured the most promising position. In 2019, JVP Chairman Raphael Wichtl and Christoph Thoma were both elected via the state list. In 2014, it was the then JVP chairman Julian Fässler. Ten years ago, there were not enough remaining votes from the districts for a second mandate.

In addition to the state list for the regional elections, the list for the National Council elections was also drawn up on Monday. As expected, this list is headed by Finance Minister Magnus Brunner and Federal Councillor Heike Eder. Here too, the candidates cannot be elected directly. They rely on the remaining votes from the two constituencies North and South.

It was decided two weeks ago that Norbert Sieber and Christine Schwarz-Fuchs would head the list in the North constituency. In the south, it is Heike Eder and Andreas Bitschnau. Magnus Brunner from Bregenz is also set to receive one of the top places on the federal list. This means he is likely to return to the National Council in any case.