Far-right candidate loses Austria's presidential race

VIENNA (AA) - Austria's far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer has lost to independent Alexander Van der Bellen in Sunday's presidential polls, according to preliminary results.

Hofer admitted defeat in a note on his Facebook account, saying "You have supported me so magnificently and I am infinitely sad that it did not work out."

Hofer also congratulated Van der Bellen, former Green Party Leader, for the election victory. "I ask for all Austrians to keep together and work together."

He added: "We are all Austrians, no matter how we decided in the polls."

"I congratulate our new President Van der Bellen," said Austrian Prime Minister Christian Kern in a statement.

According to state-run broadcaster ORF, Van der Bellen received 53.3 percent of the votes while Hofer got 46.7 percent.

The turnout was reported as 74 percent.

The official results are expected to be announced late Monday or Tuesday.

On July 1, Austria’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of May’s presidential election and called for a rerun.

Gehart Holzinger, the court’s president, had ordered a repeat of the run-off vote that saw former Green leader Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat the far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer.

The court said the election would have to be repeated nationwide after the discovery of irregularities in the count in several voting districts.