The presidency, which is a largely ceremonial post, has always gone to the ruling Social Democrats and the conservative People's Party since 1945. This year however, voters discharged the coalition's candidates and instead voted for Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigration Freedom Party. The only person blocking his path was ex-Green party chief Alexander Van der Bellen.

Described as the Freedom Party's "friendly face," the self-proclaimed political gladiator pushes tricky subjects like anti-immigration with a winning smile instead of the provocative rhetoric of party chief Heinz-Christian Strache.

Born in Vienna to an aristocratic Russian father and an Estonian mother who fled Stalinism, Van der Bellen joined the Greens in the 1990s and led them to achieve record results as party leader for a decade. In a bid to attract young voters, he tried to be Austria's - that is to say, Österreich's Obama. Or rather, "Öbama."

Van der Bellen's trademark professorial manner has often riled Hofer. "I'm talking about Europe: E-U-R-O-P-E. Ever heard of it?" Van der Bellen jibed his rival during a TV encounter earlier this year. "My God, so schoolmasterly, Herr Doctor Van der Bellen," a furious Hofer snapped back.

Van der Bellen's huge backing from celebrities and the country's top politicians has left his rival unimpressed. "You have the glitterati, but I have the people," the far-right politician observed.

In the evening Hofer and Strache cheer. Hofer has just won the tense run-off, projections showed. But over the next 24 hours, his hopes will be crushed.

The postal votes, traditionally tallied the day after the polling station count, gradually swung the outcome in Van der Bellen's favor. In the end, the 72-year-old economics professor beat his rival by just over 31,000 votes. "I want to be a nonpartisan president for all the people in Austria," the new president-elect vowed.

Hofer's party, the FPÖ, filed a legal challenge in June against the result over alleged procedural problems discovered in numerous constituencies. Reported breaches included postal votes being opened too early, as well as "non-Austrians" casting ballots. Siding with the FPÖ, the Constitutional Court annulled the May result and ordered a re-run for early October.

Van der Bellen took the news in stride, marching through crowds of supporters to Daft Punk's tune "One more time."

The election might not have been delayed had the voter Beate Rhomberg not brought the problem of faulty envelopes to the attention of her local paper. The paper's subsequent report led to a storm of complaints over voters' envelopes coming unstuck. Van der Bellen suggested that the glue was a metaphor for bigger problems in Austria, saying "What we need most of all is for us to stick together."

Whereas Van der Bellen is against Austria's exit from the EU, Hofer's Freedom Party has been campaigning against further European integration since 2005. The party reacted positively to Britain's Brexit and proclaimed Austria should start a renegotiation over the country’s relationship with the EU.

To be on the safe side, parliament has scheduled the swearing-in for late January to give authorities sufficient time to investigate any potential issues.