BBC: Austria far right thwarted, Van der Bellen elected president- Alexander Van der Bellen has won Austria's presidential election, preventing Norbert Hofer from becoming the EU's first far-right head of state.
Mr Van der Bellen, a pro-EU independent backed by the Greens, beat Mr Hofer by just 31,000 votes among the 4.64m cast.
The president-elect vowed to address the "divisions" among Austrians that the poll had "made visible".
Mr Hofer's campaign had targeted anti-EU feelings and fears about migrants. He said his defeat was a "sad day".
The Freedom Party candidate said on his Facebook page (in German): "Please don't be disheartened. The effort in this election campaign is not wasted, but is an investment for the future."
'Relief'
The interior ministry said Mr Van der Bellen had won 2,254,484 votes to Mr Hofer's 2,223,458, or 50.3% to 49.7%.
I smell bullshit. And so do a lot of disenfranchised Europeans at this point.
Q: Why do you wait till the end to count Absentee Ballots?
A: So you'll know how much you have to inflate the vote.
