Counting Debacle Leads to Resignation of SPÖ Election Commission Spokeswoman

The counting debacle happened under her direction, and now Michaela Grubesa is no longer spokeswoman for the election commission.

At the meeting of the SPÖ election commission on Tuesday, the head, Michaela Grubesa, resigned. After the debacle and the sharp criticism that followed, it was a more than understandable step. The new speaker is Klaudia Frieben. The electoral commission has meanwhile recounted the votes from the party congress in Linz. The result will be announced today at 2.30 p.m. at a press conference by the new spokeswoman for the SPÖ election commission. At 3.15 p.m. there will be a press conference by the expected SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler.

The former head of the election commission, Harry Copytz, was appalled by what happened in connection with the SPÖ presidential election on Tuesday. “In reality, this is a disaster,” commented on the fact that Andreas Babler was proclaimed party leader on Monday after Hans Peter Doskozil was declared as such on Saturday. Although he does not know how the mistake happened, he believes that it would not have happened to him that way.

He could rule this out with “high probability”, he stated. “There have already been elections in which we counted twice,” he referred to earlier comparable votes at party conferences. It should have been noticed that a voice was missing. Then it should have been clear that “something isn’t right,” says Copytz.

Copytz: “Nobody votes for a divided party”

The former party manager and state parliament president was initially the head of the election commission responsible for member surveys, but then resigned for health reasons. Previously, Doskozil, the provincial governor of Burgenland in particular, had expressed doubts about the transparency of the election. Copytz is a Viennese SPÖ veteran, the camp of former party leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner was mainly represented by the federal capital.

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Now he hopes that what is happening also represents a new beginning for the party, said Copytz. It is now necessary to unite the camps. “Because a divided party doesn’t vote,” he warned.

Deutsch does not believe in party congress repetition

Another Viennese SPÖ politician, who recently resigned from his position in the federal party, was also critical. “It’s a terrible picture that is given to the public,” said ex-federal director Christian Deutsch on Tuesday. Clarity must now be created quickly so that the new party leader has the opportunity to present his ideas in the committees.

Deutsch does not currently believe that a new party congress is necessary. A “very unpleasant mistake” happened. However, the voting seems to have been carried out correctly.