# 2017 Graz local election

The 2017 Graz local election was held on 5 February 2017 to elect the members of the Gemeindesrat of Graz.
The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) were the clear winners of the election, remaining the largest party with 38% of the vote. The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) remained the second largest party with 20%, while the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) rose to third place. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and The Greens both suffered losses. NEOS – The New Austria contested their first election in Graz, winning 4% and won one seat.
Incumbent Mayor Siegfried Nagl of the ÖVP was re-elected, while Elke Kahr of the KPÖ remained deputy mayor.

## Background

The Styrian constitution mandates that positions in municipal government (city councillors, German: Stadträten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government of Graz is a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualify for at least one city councillor.
In the 2012 election, the KPÖ became the second largest party in Graz with 20%. The ÖVP, SPÖ, and Greens all suffered losses, while the FPÖ and Pirate Party made gains. The city government was dominated by the ÖVP with three councillors, while the KPÖ, SPÖ, FPÖ, and Greens won one councillor each.

## Electoral system

The 48 seats of the Gemeindesrat of Graz are elected via open list proportional representation with no electoral threshold.

## Contesting parties

| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader | 2012 result | 2012 result | 2012 result |
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader | Votes (%) | Seats | Councillors |
| | ÖVP | Austrian People's Party Österreichische Volkspartei | Christian democracy | Siegfried Nagl | 33.7% | 17 / 48 | 3 / 7 |
| | KPÖ | Communist Party of Austria Kommunistische Partei Österreichs | Communism | Elke Kahr | 19.6% | 10 / 48 | 1 / 7 |
| | SPÖ | Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs | Social democracy | Michael Ehmann | 15.3% | 7 / 48 | 1 / 7 |
| | FPÖ | Freedom Party of Austria Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs | Right-wing populism Euroscepticism | Mario Eustacchio | 13.8% | 7 / 48 | 1 / 7 |
| | GRÜNE | The Greens – The Green Alternative Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative | Green politics | Tina Wirnsberger | 12.1% | 5 / 48 | 1 / 7 |
| | PIRAT | Pirate Party of Austria Piratenpartei Österreichs | Pirate politics | Philip Pacanda | 2.7% | 1 / 48 |
In addition to the parties already represented in the Gemeindesrat, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot:
* NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS)
* List WIR – Independent Citizens List Graz (WIR)
* Einsparkraftwerk (ESK)
* Tatjana Petrovic

## Results

| | Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) | 47,639 | 37.79 | +4.05 | 19 | +2 | 3 | ±0 |
| | Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) | 25,645 | 20.34 | +0.48 | 10 | ±0 | 2 | +1 |
| | Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) | 19,998 | 15.86 | +2.11 | 8 | +1 | 1 | ±0 |
| | The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) | 13,254 | 10.51 | –1.63 | 5 | –1 | 1 | ±0 |
| | Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) | 12,668 | 10.05 | –5.26 | 5 | –2 | 0 | –1 |
| | NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) | 4,966 | 3.94 | New | 1 | New | 0 | New |
| | Pirate Party of Austria (PIRAT) | 1,368 | 1.09 | –1.61 | 0 | –1 | 0 | ±0 |
| | List WIR – Independent Citizens List Graz (WIR) | 250 | 0.20 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New |
| | Einsparkraftwerk (ESK) | 166 | 0.13 | –0.06 | 0 | ±0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Tatjana Petrovic | 115 | 0.09 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,835 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | Total | 127,904 | 100 | – | 48 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 222,856 | 57.39 | +1.92 | – | – | – | – |
| Source: Stadt Graz |||||||||
Popular vote
ÖVP
37.79%
KPÖ
20.34%
FPÖ
15.86%
GRÜNE
10.51%
SPÖ
10.05%
NEOS
3.94%
Other
1.51% :
Gemeindesrat seats
ÖVP
39.58%
KPÖ
20.83%
FPÖ
16.67%
GRÜNE
10.42%
SPÖ
10.42%
NEOS
2.08% :

### Results by district

| District | ÖVP | KPÖ | FPÖ | Grüne | SPÖ | NEOS | Others | Turnout |
| I. Innere Stadt | 33.7 | 28.6 | 11.4 | 13.8 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 59.8 |
| II. St. Leonhard | 34.2 | 26.7 | 9.7 | 15.1 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 61.9 |
| III. Geidorf | 36.5 | 23.8 | 10.5 | 14.2 | 7.4 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 61.7 |
| IV. Lend | 27.6 | 25.7 | 18.4 | 9.4 | 14.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 49.7 |
| V. Gries | 27.1 | 28.3 | 19.1 | 8.6 | 12.1 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 43.6 |
| VI. Jakomini | 30.4 | 27.3 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 9.9 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 53.9 |
| VII. Liebenau | 42.2 | 15.1 | 21.1 | 5.4 | 12.6 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 54.9 |
| VIII. St. Peter | 42.1 | 18.5 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 8.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 67.1 |
| IX. Waltendorf | 48.1 | 15.3 | 13.2 | 10.7 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 68.8 |
| X. Ries | 47.4 | 15.8 | 13.6 | 10.8 | 7.4 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 64.4 |
| XI. Mariatrost | 47.9 | 16.1 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 68.9 |
| XII. Andritz | 44.9 | 15.3 | 14.9 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 68.2 |
| XIII. Gösting | 37.2 | 16.1 | 23.1 | 6.1 | 14.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 54.2 |
| XIV. Eggenberg | 34.3 | 20.1 | 21.4 | 8.0 | 12.1 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 54.0 |
| XV. Wetzelsdorf | 37.2 | 16.1 | 24.3 | 5.2 | 13.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 55.2 |
| XVI. Straßgang | 40.6 | 12.8 | 23.1 | 5.1 | 14.5 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 57.5 |
| XVII. Puntigam | 38.0 | 15.5 | 25.4 | 5.5 | 11.7 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 50.8 |
| Total | 37.8 | 20.3 | 15.9 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 57.4 |
| Source: Stadt Graz |||||||||