Kurz, as head of the OVP, will become Austria's next leader, according to projections from Sunday's parliamentary election result. Short of a majority, his party will have to build a coalition government with the far right.
According to preliminary data as of over 96 percent of votes counted, less than one percent divides the results of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) and the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) with the party expected to come second in the vote not being clear.
The Austrian Interior Ministry responsible for the election in the country confirmed the leading positions of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) in the recent snap parliamentary vote, as the party gathered support of over 31 percent of voters. According to preliminary results published by the country's media, the OVP led by Kurz gathered support of 36.45 percent of voters and finished first.
According to the figures published on the ministry's website, the OVP is followed by the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) backed by 27.4 percent of voters, while the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) finished third with 26.7 percent of votes.
The ministry added that the results were published without the ballots cast during the early voting.
Austria is currently governed by the Grand Coalition of Social Democratic Party (SPO) and the Austrian People's Party (OVP), but the victory of OVP may significantly change the power balance.
The foreign minister, who at 31 may become one of the youngest European leaders in modern history if his party wins the election, also announced that he would replace the regular OVP constituency selection process with a list of independent candidates backed by the party.
The right-wing Austrian party is likely to repeat the success of the right-wing Alternative for Germany that entered the Bundestag for the first time as a result of gaining 94 seats in the parliament.
