2018 Social Democratic Party leadership election

The **2018 Social Democratic Party leadership election** was called by party leader and Prime Minister Milo Grübberbach on 1 May 2018, when he announced that he'd be resigning as Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Lungary and Prime Minister due to retirement. The winner of the leadership election would lead the party during the upcoming general election, although they would not become Prime Minister unless the party maintained their parliamentary majority coalition.

The contest officially began that day, with a deadline for declaring candidacies set for 5 May. Both Caterina Munbacher and Ella Wrauner announced their candidacies on 2 May, while Darlene Grübberbach, Uljana Heimlitz, and Robert Wrächtenbarg announced theirs on 3 May, and Alexander Rüshcko announced his on 5 May.

The first round of voting amongst Social Democratic members of the Stadtkart took place on 7 May, eliminating Wrauner. The second round was held on 9 May, eliminating Wrächtenbarg, with Grübberbach withdrawing from the race after the vote. The third round was held on 11 May, eliminating Rüschko and leaving Heimlitz and Munbacher as the sole two candidates advancing to the main election amongst registered party members throughout Lungary. The members' ballot vote opened on 18 May, and closed on 28 May. The official result was revealed on 29 May, with Munbacher winning 50.18% of the vote to Heimlitz's 49.82%.

## Results

### First round

There were no abstentions for the first ballot, with all 345 Social Democratic members of the Stadtkart voting. Heimlitz won the vote with 147 votes, with Grübberbach, Rüschko, Munbacher, and Wrächtenbarg coming in second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. The five advanced to the second ballot, while the sixth-place finisher Wrauner was eliminated from the race.

### Second round

There were no abstentions for the second ballot, with all 345 Social Democratic members of the Stadtkart voting. Following Wrauner's elimination in the first round, she endorsed Heimlitz, although many of her supporters chose to support Rüschko instead. Heimlitz won the vote with 155 votes, with Rüschko, and Munbacher coming in second and third, respectively. The three advanced to the third ballot, while the fifth-place finisher Wrächtenbarg was eliminated from the race. Shortly after the vote, the fourth-place finisher Grübberbach withdrew from the race due to consecutive poor performances in the voting.

### Third round

There were no abstentions for the third ballot, with all 345 Social Democratic members of the Stadtkart voting. Following Wrächtenbarg's elimination and Grübberbach's withdrawal in the second round, they endorsed Munbacher and Heimlitz, respectively. Heimlitz subsequently won the vote with 193 votes, with Munbacher coming in second. The two advanced to the members' vote, while the third-place finisher Rüschko was eliminated from the race.

### Members' vote

Of the 220,349 registered members of the Social Democratic Party in 2018, 204,634 votes were received. Following Rüschko's elimination in the second round, he endorsed Munbacher. Munbacher subsequently won the vote with 50.18% of the vote, with Heimlitz coming in second with 49.82% of the vote.