election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER 47.6%

note: government coalition - SPOe and OeVP

Legislative branch:

bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; members chosen by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 members in proportion to its population; members serve five- or six-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: National Council - last held 28 September 2008 (next to be held by September 2013)

election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 29.3%, OeVP 26%, FPOe 17.5%, BZOe 10.7%, Greens 10.4%, other 6.1%; seats by party - SPOe 57, OeVP 51, FPOe 34, BZOe 21, Greens 20

Judicial branch:

Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Josef BUCHER]; Austrian
People's Party or OeVP [Josef PROELL]; Freedom Party of Austria or
FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria
or SPOe [Werner FAYMANN]; The Greens [Eva GLAWISCHNIG]