Austrian presidential election postponed due to Glue on Postal Ballots, Austrian presidential election New dates timeline, Wolfgang Sobotka,Austria election new schedule released

The re-run of Austria’s presidential election on October 2 needs to be postponed because of problems with glue on postal votes not sticking, the interior minister said Monday.

1. “We are going to request that parliament approves a postponement of the election,” Wolfgang Sobotka told reporters.
2. Possible new dates are November 27 or December 4, he said. 
3. The rerun, which was ordered after complaints of anomalies in the counting of postal votes from the rightwing Freedom party (FPÖ), had been due to take place on 2 October. It will now be held on 4 December.–TheGuadian

The postponement is a further embarrassment for Austria, a wealthy and advanced Western democracy and EU member, and for the government of Chancellor Christian Kern.

Austria has been without a president since July 8 when Heinz Fischer stepped down. He was replaced on an interim basis by the speaker of parliament and two deputy speakers. The last election result from May was annulled after Austria’s highest court in July upheld claims of procedural irregularities made by the narrowly-defeated far-right.

Austrian police are investigating how the envelopes, which have apparently been made by the same company for decades, came unstuck. One theory is that they became too warm during transportation, drying the glue out.