1997 Besmenian presidential election

1997 Besmenian presidential election

23 February 1997 (first round) 9 March 1997 (second round)

Candidate Gerhard Mahler Ursula Kummstein Party SDU FBBP Home state Tergau Summingia Percentage 53,6% 45,9%

Mahler   Kummstein

The 1997 Besmenian presidential election took place on 23 February 1997 and on 9 March 1997 in Besmenia. President Otto Schulz, who has been in office since 1985, was not allowed to stand for a second re-election.

The winner of the election was the former Federal Foreign Minister and Secretary-General of the ANS Gerhard Mahler, who remained President until 2003.

Background

Otto Schulz, who had been president since 1985 at the time of the election, was not allowed to run for a third term.

Election

The President of Besmenia is directly elected by the population once every six years. The election is held under a two-round system; if no candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast in the first round, then a second ballot occurs in which only those two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round may stand.

Results

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Gerhard Mahler	SDU	23,140,208	42.1%	31,897,643	53.6%
	Ursula Kummstein	FBBP	16,489,459	30%	26,005,361	45.9%
	Adam Radinger	BVP	10,828,078	19.7%
	Michael Breitmann	NBP	4,067,400	7.4%
Invalid/blank votes			439,718	0.8%	283,282	0.5%
Total			54,964,863	100%	58,186,286	100%
Registered voters/turnout			64,868,467	84,73%	64,868,467	89,70%

1997 Besmenian presidential election (first round) Gerhard Mahler   42.1% Ursula Kummstein   30% Adam Radinger   19.7% Michael Breitmann   7.4%

1997 Besmenian presidential election (second round) Gerhard Mahler   56.6% Ursula Kummstein   45.9%