Far-right candidate Norbert Hofer has lost the race for the Austrian presidency and has conceded defeat as the first results emerged.

As the polls closed at 4pm UK time, exit surveys indicated left-leaning candidate Alexander Van der Bellen has taken an unbeatable lead in the election with more than 53 per cent of the vote.

Hofer would have been the first far-right politician elected to national office in Europe since World War 2.

Hofer, who often carries a Glock pistol, had hoped to capitalise on the anti-establishment wave credited with delivering Brexit in Britain and sending Donald Trump to the White House.

The tide of discontent could yet reach Italy today where a high stakes referendum on constitutional reform is taking place. A No vote would doom Italian PM Matteo Renzi's career.

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Norbert Hofer, pictured as the results came in today, would have been Europe's first elected far right leader in 70 years

Norbert Hofer (right) and his team were pictured waiting for the results in his office in Vienna today but the far right candidate conceded defeat within minutes of the polls closing

Green Party candidate Alexander Van der Bellen is set to be the new president of Austria following today's elections

In a statement issued on Facebook, Hofer conceded in a note to supporters which said 'I am incredibly sad it didn't work out'.

He congratulated Mr Van Der Bellen on his success and urged 'all Austrians, to pull together and work together'.

He said: 'We are all Austrians, no matter how we decided at the ballot box.'

The first official results, released shortly after the polls closed on Sunday, show Mr Van der Bellen with 53.5 per cent of the vote while Mr Hofer has 46.4 per cent.

While votes continue to be counted, officials say they will not change the outcome but the percentages may still vary.

The margin is a surprise as polls ahead of Sunday's vote had shown the two candidates neck-and-neck.

Supporters of Van der Bellen reacted with delight to the first results, with one activist waving a banner that translates as 'thank God'

Van der Bellen was elected as Austrian president today in a re-run of an election he was declared the victor of in the spring. His supporters, pictured, were unable to contain their emotions as the first results were declared

The election is a court-ordered re-run of a May vote that Mr Van der Bellen won by less than one percentage point.

Protesters marched through the streets of the Austrian capital Vienna on the eve of the election carrying banners reading 'No Nazi in the Hofburg - end with the trivialization of fascism'.

Hofer's supporters claimed he would have proved he is not a Nazi if he had been elected.

The first result in the spring was annulled. Van de Bellen won by just 31,000 the first time but only after postal votes had been counted.

Had he won, Hofer's victory could have paved the way for a return to government of his popular FPOe, founded by ex-Nazis.

Some 6.4 million voters were eligible to cast ballots at polling stations which opened at 6am UK time.

Norbert Hofer, pictured today as after he voted, was narrowly leading in opinion polls as the ballot began after a campaign dominated by harsh rhetoric on immigration and asylum seekers

Observers feared a win for Hofer, pictured right with wife Verena today, would trigger a domino effect ahead of key elections next year in France, Germany and The Netherlands

Hofer, left alongside his Green Party rival Alexander Van der Bellen lost when the election was held in the spring but the result was later annulled

Both candidates issued final video appeals on Saturday urging Austrians to cast their ballots, amid growing voter fatigue.

Van der Bellen said people should be guided by 'reason, not extremes' while Hofer promised 'a safe Austria' for generations to come.

If he wins, Hofer will be the EU's first far-right head of state in a party first made famous at the turn of the millennium when Joerg Haider propelled the Freedom Party into a coalition government.

His party colleague Andreas Rabl, 44, was elected the mayor of the Austrain city Wels last year.

Among the policies he has implemented are intensive German language training in all schools and requiring all state funded schools and nurseries to celebrate Christian festivals.

Italian PM Matteo Renzi also faces a high stake poll today as Italy votes on a constitutional referendum that could end his career

Protests against Mr Renzi dominated the run up to today referendum and there are fears anti-establishment frustration could end the career of another mainstream leader

And he has defended his colleague Hofer, saying his policies are a far-cry from the Nazis.

He told the Times: 'There is this constant message that the FPO is a Nazi party, the new fascism and dictatorial.

'The foreign report about radicalism and the far-right in Austria, I hear that all of the time. I ask myself, what are they talking about?

'New facism? I do not see it. Mr Hofer as president would have the opportunity to correct this view. We are a normal right-wing party, correct, but we are a far cry from the Nazi party.'

Anger: Hundreds of furious Austrians marched through the streets of Vienna on Saturday to protest against far-right presidential candidate Norbert Hofer

Reinforcements: Police were present to ensure the protests stayed safe and peaceful

Rabl's comments come after it was revealed that if Hofer wins tomorrow's vote, he will push for a referendum on Austria's EU membership being dubbed 'Oexit'.

He is up against independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, who is being backed by the Green Party.

And while Hofer is not backing a Brexit-style withdrawal from the bloc, he says he wants a 'better European Union' and was afraid of more centralisation in the wake of the British retreat from the club.

'If the answer to Brexit would be to make a centralised European Union, where the national parliaments are disempowered and where the union is governed like a state....in this case, we would have to hold a referendum in Austria, because it would lead to a constitutional change,' he said.

Fuming: One protester let his feelings about the far right candidate known on the streets of Vienna

During his election campaign, Hofer has enthused supporters, and horrified critics, with comments against Muslims - 'Islam is not part of our values' and 'Islam has no place in Austria' - and has promised to increase criminal penalties for immigrants committing crimes like rape while cutting back on assistance to newcomers.

This has prompted anti-fascist demonstrators to hold a 'F*** Hofer' rally through Vienna later today.

Meanwhile the election is also being closely watched as both candidates are hoping to exploit the Trump effect in the first EU nation to hold a vote since the US poll.

One of his close friends has claimed that if Mr Hofer is elected, he will prove he is not a Nazi

Experts say how the result plays out could be a barometer of its resonance in other countries with upcoming national elections that also feature strong populist and euro skeptic contenders.

Van der Bellen says he hopes that Trump's triumph will serve as a 'wake-up call' to vote for him against Hofer.

While Hofer previously greeted the U.S. election result as a victory for democracy blasting opponents who 'wildly berate' Trump.

It comes as many Austrian voters unhappy with the current ruling coalition, made up of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and conservative People's Party (ÖVP), flocked to Hofer and his promise of 'putting Austria first'.

Born on March 2, 1970 into a middle-class family, Hofer grew up as the son of a local ÖVP councillor in Burgenland, the country's least prosperous state near to the border with Hungary.

After a short stint working for the now-defunct Lauda Air airline, Hofer joined the FPÖ's Burgenland branch in 1994 and became party secretary two years later.

Moving up through the ranks, he later became a close advisor to Heinz-Christian Strache who took over the party from Haider in 2005.

While the 45-year-old is not backing a Brexit-style withdrawal from the bloc, he says he wants a 'better European Union' and was afraid of more centralisation in the wake of the British retreat from the club

People walk between election posters in Vienna, Austria ahead of tomorrow's presidential election

He often carries a Glock pistol for 'protection' and at his swearing-in as Freedom Party candidate, he wore a cornflower in his lapel, which was a Nazi symbol in the 1930s.

However, Hofer denies that his fondness for the cornflower has anything to do with the Nazis.

Under the new leadership, the party initially grew more extremist and re-introduced racist slogans - speech which has been modified by Hofer but, say critics, the party philosophy has not.

An avid social media user, his Instagram account shows him at a gun range with his four children. 'I just love to shoot,' he declared in a recent interview. 'I understand the rising trend of gun owners in Austria given the current uncertainties'.