VIENNA, April 19: Austria's 5.8 million voters go to the polls on Sunday in presidential ballots, with outgoing head of state Thomas Klestil predicted to be comfortably re-elected for a second six-year term.The 65-year-old former diplomat, who was elected in 1992 on the ticket of the conservative Austrian People's Party (OeVP), is credited with 60-66 percent of the vote according to the latest opinion polls. Four other candidates are standing, but none is expected to garner more than 20 per cent, and together they will struggle to deprive Klestil of the 50 percent he needs for first-round victory, surveys say.Voting starts at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) across Austria, and ends at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) when the first exit poll predictions are expected. The President in Austria usually has a relatively powerless role when government is functioning normally.
