The 2026 Graz local election was held on 28 June 2026 to elect the members of the Gemeinderat of Graz.
Background In the 2021 Graz local election, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) became the largest party for the first time in the city's history, winning almost 29% of votes cast. The previous governing party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), fell from 38% to second place with 26%. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) also suffered losses and finished in fourth place on 11%, while The Greens moved into third with 17%. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) recorded a slight decline to 9.5%. NEOS – The New Austria won 5.4% and gained a second seat. The KPÖ subsequently formed a coalition with the Greens and SPÖ, and Elke Kahr was elected mayor by the Gemeinderat on 17 November with 28 out of 46 votes. She became the first female mayor of Graz and the first communist mayor of an Austrian city.
Electoral system In Graz, the 48 seats of the Gemeinderat are elected by open list under proportional representation with no electoral threshold. The mayor (Bürgermeister) is elected by the Gemeinderat from among its members using a majority vote. The municipal executive (Stadtsenat) consists of the mayor and seven city councillors (Stadträte). Statute requires these seven positions are allocated proportionally among parties according to their share of the vote (Proporz), resulting in a permanent multi-party executive. Though coalitions thus have no impact on the makeup of government, parties still form them for the purpose of securing legislative majorities.
The outgoing executive consisted of 3 KPÖ seats, 2 ÖVP seats, one Green seat, and one for the Korruptionsfreier Gemeinderatsklub – "Corruption-Free Municipal Council Club", a group of defectors who left the FPÖ over a financial scandal. That group stood in this election under the name "Citizens' List for a Corruption-Free Graz" (Bürgerliste Korruptionsfreies Graz).
Contesting parties No. Name Leader 2021 result Votes (%) Seats Councillors 1 FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria Rene Apfelknab 10.6% 2 ÖVP Team Kurt Hohensinner – Graz People's Party Kurt Hohensinner 25.9% 3 SPÖ SPÖ Graz – Doris Kampus Doris Kampus 9.5% 4GRÜNEThe Graz Greens – Judith SchwentnerJudith Schwentner17.3% 5 NEOS NEOS – The reform force for Graz Philipp Pointner 5.4% 6KPÖElke Kahr – Communist Party of AustriaElke Kahr28.8% 7DBÖDemocratic Alliance of Austriadid not contest 8KFGCitizens' List for a Corruption-Free GrazClaudia Schönbacher 9GAZA 10PIRATPirate Party Graz – Young, progressive, better for Graz!0.4% 11MFGMFG Austria – People Freedom Fundamental Rightsdid not contest
Opinion polling OutletDateÖVPKPÖFPÖGrüneSPÖNEOSOthersLead2026 local election28 June 202625.335.712.015.05.64.91.510.4Peter Hajek6 Jun 20262232151299110M&R10 May 2026242714.5177.57.533Peter Hajek14 Mar 202620 31181488111Triple M19 Feb 20262328161598152021 local election26 Sep 202125.928.810.617.39.55.42.42.9
Results and aftermath The KPÖ made further gains, winning in a landslide with almost 36% of the vote. Following the SPÖ's record-low result, local party leader Doris Kampus resigned to take responsibility for the loss.
The FPÖ regained the Stadtsenat seat it lost to defectors, and the other parties' allocations remained unchanged. The ÖVP approached the KPÖ about starting coalition negotiations; the KPÖ declined the offer and instead came to an agreement to continue working with the Greens. The two parties have a bare majority of 25 seats. The SPÖ did not rejoin the coalition and instead positioned itself as a constructive opposition. Party Votes % +/− Seats +/− +/− Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ)43,14535.7 6.918 33 0 Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)30,55425.3 0.613 02 0 The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE)18,06614.9 2.47 21 0 Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)14,50912.0 1.46 11 0 Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)6,8025.6 3.92 20 0 NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS)5,9514.9 0.52 00 0 Citizens' List for a Corruption-Free Graz8220.7 New— MFG Austria – People Freedom Fundamental Rights3340.3 New— Pirate Party of Austria3070.3 0.1— Gaza List2470.2 New— Democratic Alliance of Austria1300.1 New— Invalid/blank votes1,4931.2 0.3— Total122,360100.0 — 48 — 7 — Registered voters/turnout225,88354.2 0.2 —Source: Stadt Graz Results by district DistrictKPÖÖVPGrüneFPÖSPÖNEOSI. Innere Stadt40.825.815.38.33.75.0II. St. Leonhard40.222.220.66.53.85.3III. Geidorf37.924.618.77.44.25.9IV. Lend43.216.915.312.66.83.3V. Gries49.014.512.712.95.42.3VI. Jakomini45.319.214.810.14.94.3VII. Liebenau30.728.19.818.47.04.6VIII. St. Peter28.733.217.19.54.65.7IX. Waltendorf27.335.516.68.44.47.0X. Ries28.232.816.99.54.76.8XI. Mariatrost26.536.717.08.33.96.5XII. Andritz28.232.516.510.16.35.3XIII. Gösting32.625.310.417.66.75.7XIV. Eggenberg38.320.914.213.76.74.5XV. Wetzelsdorf33.024.09.820.08.13.3XVI. Straßgang30.126.19.021.57.94.0XVII. Puntigam31.024.48.623.66.63.8Total35.725.314.912.05.64.9Source: Stadt Graz
References
External links Graz info corner at Graz Gemeinsam Gestalten