[3] With the SPÖ falling substantially short of a majority, they required a coalition partner to govern.

[5][6] In the 2010 election, the SPÖ won 48.3% of votes and fell one seat short of an absolute majority.

Before amendments made in 2014, the Burgenland constitution required that cabinet positions in the state government be distributed proportionally among parties based on their share of the votes received.

[8] The 36 seats of the Landtag of Burgenland are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process.

[9] For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 4 percent state-wide electoral threshold.