Austria's highest court annuls result of presidential electionJuly 1, 2016 - 17:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Austria's highest court has annulled the result of the presidential election narrowly lost by the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party, BBC News reports. The party had challenged the result, saying that postal votes had been illegally and improperly handled. The Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, lost the election to the former leader of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, by just 30,863 votes or less than one percentage point. The election will now be re-run. Announcing the decision, Gerhard Holzinger, head of the Constitutional Court, said: "The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the 22 May election... has been upheld." He added: "The decision I am announcing today has no winner and no loser, it has only one aim: to strengthen trust in the rule of law and democracy." Hofer said he was pleased that the court had taken "a difficult decision", adding: "I have great trust in the rule of law." In two weeks of hearings, lawyers for the Freedom Party argued that postal ballots were illegally handled in 94 out of 117 districts. It alleged that thousands of votes were opened earlier than permitted under election rules and some were counted by people unauthorised to do so. The party also claimed to have evidence that some under-16s and foreigners had been allowed to vote. In its ruling, the court said election rules had been broken in a way that could have influenced the result. But it said there was no proof the count had been manipulated. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |