| Election Name: | 1996 European Parliament election in Austria |
| Country: | Austria |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Next Election: | 1999 European Parliament election in Austria |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
| Seats For Election: | 21 seats to the European Parliament |
| Election Date: | 13 October 1996 |
| Turnout: | 67.73% |
| Image1: | Ursula Stenzel - Pressekonferenz am 22. Sep. 2020 (2).JPG |
| Leader1: | Ursula Stenzel |
| Party1: | Austrian People's Party |
| Alliance1: | European People's Party |
| Seats1: | 7 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,124,921 |
| Percentage1: | 29.65% |
| Leader2: | Hannes Swoboda |
| Party2: | Social Democratic Party of Austria |
| Alliance2: | Party of European Socialists |
| Seats2: | 6 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,105,910 |
| Percentage2: | 29.15% |
| Image3: | 3x4.svg |
| Leader3: | Franz Linser |
| Party3: | Freedom Party of Austria |
| Alliance3: | None |
| Seats3: | 6 |
| Popular Vote3: | 1,044,604 |
| Percentage3: | 27.53% |
| Image4: | Johannes Voggenhuber (cropped).jpg |
| Leader4: | Johannes Voggenhuber |
| Party4: | The Greens – The Green Alternative |
| Alliance4: | European Green Party |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 258,250 |
| Percentage4: | 6.81% |
| Image5: | Friedhelm Frischenschlager Wien-4-9-2008.jpg |
| Leader5: | Friedhelm Frischenschlager |
| Party5: | Liberal Forum |
| Alliance5: | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 161,583 |
| Percentage5: | 4.26% |
| Map Size: | 380px |
European elections were held in Austria on 13 October 1996 to elect the 21 Austrian members of the European Parliament.
Source:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/press/sdp/backg/en/1996/b961007.htm
In 1996, Austria was a country with a population of 7.9 million (5.8 million voters). The federal government was a "grand coalition" of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the Christian Democratic Party (ÖVP) and was led by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky.
Source:http://www.bmi.gv.at/wahlen/nationalratswahl_1995_ergebnis.asp
At the last national election in 1995, the parties obtained the following results: SPÖ: 38.1%, ÖVP: 28.3%, FPÖ: 21.9%, Liberals: 5.5% and Greens: 4.8%.
Source:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/press/sdp/backg/en/1996/b961007.htm
An asterisk (*) indicates Members standing for re-election.
Source:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/press/sdp/backg/en/1996/b961007.htm
The electoral system used for the European elections was based on proportional representation, comparable to the system traditionally used in Austria for legislative elections.
The parties put forward lists of candidates. The seats are shared out on the basis of the percentage of the votes obtained by each list. Because of the limited number of seats, the lists were identical for the whole of Austria; there were no regional lists. The threshold required to win a seat was 4%. Candidates who win 7% of the total 'preference votes' obtained by their party would win one of the seats accorded to the party, irrespective of their position on the list. The lists of candidates had to be signed by three members of the national parliament, or by one Member of the European Parliament, or by 2600 voters. The minimum voting age was 18. European citizens residing in Austria were entitled to vote provided that they did not vote in their country of origin in the June 1994 European elections. 7205 European citizens registered and fulfilled that condition.
Source:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/press/sdp/backg/en/1996/b961007.htm
The following political parties entered lists for the European elections on 13 October 1996:
The ÖVP won a plurality of nationwide votes, winning five federal states out of nine. The SPÖ and the FPÖ each won two states; in particular, the SPÖ prevailed in the capital city-state of Vienna. The ÖVP recorded their best results in Vorarlberg, the country's westernmost and second-smallest atate. Simultaneously, the SPÖ performed the worst there, at just 13.7%. Neither party reached at least 40% in any state: the SPÖ's 38.1% in Burgenland was the best performance for any party in any state.
| State | SPÖ | ÖVP | FPÖ | GRÜNE | LiF | The Neutrals | Forum Handicap | KPÖ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38.1 | 33.1 | 21.8 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | |
| 34.4 | 19.6 | 37.2 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | |
| 29.3 | 35.7 | 23.1 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | |
| 28.5 | 30.9 | 28.1 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | |
| 24.8 | 29.7 | 31.3 | 7.6 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | |
| 29.2 | 30.4 | 28.9 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | |
| 17.0 | 33.7 | 33.7 | 8.6 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | |
| 13.9 | 36.2 | 33.1 | 9.0 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | |
| 34.0 | 21.9 | 24.2 | 10.1 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | |
| 29.2 | 29.7 | 27.6 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | |
| Source: Austrian Interior Ministry |