U S State Department

AUSTRIA 2016 HUMAN RIGHTS Report U S State Department

The Republic of Austria is a parliamentary democracy with constitutional power shared between a popularly elected president and a bicameral parliament (federal assembly). The multiparty parliament and the coalition government it elects exercise most day-to-day governmental powers. National parliamentary elections in 2013 and presidential elections in 2016 were considered free and fair. In July the Constitutional Court found procedural irregularities in the second-round runoff vote of the presidential election held in May but no evidence of manipulation of ballots; in December there was a repeat of the runoff vote. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. The most significant human rights problem in the country remained societal discrimination against ethnic minorities, including Muslims, immigrants, Roma, Jews, and foreigners of African origin.