At stake in this election:      

• 183 seats in the National Council (Nationalrat)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Alexander VAN DER BELLEN
• Head of Government: Chancellor Brigitte BIERLEIN
• Assembly: Bicameral parliament consisting of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) with 61 seats[1] and the National Council (Nationalrat) with 183 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected to serve a 6-year term by an absolute majority vote through a two-round system.
• The Chancellor is appointed by the President.
• The members of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) are elected and delegated by the diets of the 9 States for the duration of the legislative period of the diet in question. They need not be members of the diet that delegates them but must be eligible for it. The Federal Council’s presidency is rotating on a six-month basis among the 9 States.[2]
• Members of the National Council (Nationalrat) are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. In case the office of the Federal President is vacant, the three Presidents of the National Council act jointly as Head of State.

Main campaigning groups in the electoral race*:

• Party: Austrian People's Party / Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP)
  • Leader: Sebastian KURZ
  • Seats won in last election: 62

• Party: Social Democratic Party of Austria / Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ)
  • Leader: Pamela RENDI-WAGNER
  • Seats won in last election: 52

• Party: Freedom Party of Austria / Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ)
  • Leader: Norbert HOFER
  • Seats won in last election: 51
• Party: The New Austria and Liberal Forum / Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS)
  • Leader: Beate MEINL-REISINGER
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Party: JETZT / Liste Pilz
  • Leader: Maria STERN**
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Party: The Greens – The Green Alternative / Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (GRÜNE)
  • Leader: Werner KOGLER
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Communist Party of Austria Plus (KPÖ+)***
  • Leaders: Mirko MESSNER and Flora PETRIK
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: The Change / Der Wandel (WANDL)
  • Leader: Fayad MULLA
  • Seats won in last election: 0

* In order to contest the election nationwide, a party (or list) is required to obtain either the signatures of three MPs in parliament or to collect 2,600 valid signatures from eligible voters ahead of the elections. Parties are also able to contest the election in individual states only by collecting a required number of signatures. The state and federal election commissions will then validate the signatures and announce the qualified parties. Five additional parties are on the ballot in individual states only.

** Lead candidate: Peter Pilz

*** KPÖ+ is an electoral alliance between the Communist Party of Austria and the Young Greens. The alliance was formed in May 2017, after the Young Greens were expelled from The Greens.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,793,370 (July 2018 est.)[3]
• Registered Voters: 6,400,993[4]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 4,488,587 (2018 est.)[5]
• Is Austria a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has Austria ratified CEDAW: Yes (31 March 1982)
• Gender Quota: Yes
• Female Candidates in this election: N/A
• Number of Female Legislators: 68 (37%)
• Human Development Index (HDI) Ranking: 20[6]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low; 12%[7]

Disability Data:

• Is Austria a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Austria ratified CRPD: Yes (26 September 2008)
• Population with a disability: 1,299,833*

* According to World Health Organization’s 15% estimate