Austria's interior minister has asked the government to postpone repeat presidential elections because of faulty absentee ballot envelopes, effectively cancelling a vote planned for next month.

The European Union should avoid any moves towards political “centralisation” or else Austria could hold a referendum on membership of the bloc within a year, a far-right candidate who almost won the country’s presidential election said.

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Nearly 700,000 postal votes will decide whether a hardline Austrian will become the European Union's first far-right president.