Members mobilized

Turmoil in the Vienna ÖVP: Allegations of cheating in an election

Serious accusation from the party's own ranks: Was there cheating in the election for district party chairman?

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, zVg)

A stir within the ÖVP: cheating is alleged to have taken place in an election for the district party executive. Within a few weeks, 280 new members had joined with questionable data.

Members of the ÖAAB (Austrian Workers' Federation) are making serious accusations against the ÖVP Vienna. The "Krone" has received a letter to this effect. There is a suspicion of electoral fraud.

Data of new members shows anomalies
The background: At the meeting of the district party executive of the ÖVP Floridsdorf on October 25, 2022, an election proposal for the district party conference was accepted by a large majority. In the weeks that followed, there was a flood of new members and transfers from other districts to the ÖAAB. Not only are 280 new memberships within 11 days suspicious, but the stored data also shows anomalies. For example, some members have identical e-mail addresses. A further accusation is that some functionaries used this membership mobilization to help a desired election proposal achieve a breakthrough. It is also alleged that a new district party executive was elected with the help of these new members.

The Vienna ÖAAB has since admitted the mistake and the district assembly was repeated. In return, the ÖVP Vienna would not have done this, according to the accusation.

What does the ÖVP say about these accusations? "The matter is not new and was already dealt with by a court of arbitration of the ÖAAB Vienna at the beginning of last year. It should be mentioned that only four of the people named in the letter were present at the district assembly, which means that no influence on any election results can be ascertained," says ÖAAB regional managing director Stefan Lochmahr in response to an inquiry from "Krone".