Austria’s far-right Freedom Party names presidency candidate

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s far-right Freedom Party has chosen former lawmaker Walter Rosenkranz as its candidate to challenge liberal incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen in the country’s presidential election in October. The party said its leadership nominated Rosenkranz unanimously on Tuesday evening. Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer lost to Van der Bellen in a runoff vote in 2016 which had to be rerun on the orders of Austria’s Constitutional Court after the party claimed widespread voting irregularities in Hofer’s initial narrow defeat. Van der Bellen announced in May that he will seek reelection. He’s expected to have broad mainstream support in the Oct. 9 vote with a runoff to be held on Nov. 6 if no candidate secures an outright majority.