| Country: | Austria |
| Flag Year: | state |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1999 Austrian legislative election |
| Previous Year: | 1999 |
| Next Election: | 2006 Austrian legislative election |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
| Seats For Election: | All 183 seats in the National Council |
| Majority Seats: | 92 |
| Election Date: | 24 November 2002 |
| Turnout: | 84.27% (3.85pp) |
| Image1: | W Schuessel7.jpg |
| Leader1: | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Party1: | Austrian People's Party |
| Last Election1: | 26.91%, 52 seats |
| Seats1: | 79 |
| Seat Change1: | 27 |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,076,833 |
| Percentage1: | 42.30% |
| Swing1: | 15.39pp |
| Leader2: | Alfred Gusenbauer |
| Party2: | Social Democratic Party of Austria |
| Last Election2: | 33.15%, 65 seats |
| Seats2: | 69 |
| Seat Change2: | 4 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,792,499 |
| Percentage2: | 36.51% |
| Swing2: | 3.36pp |
| Image4: | Herbert Haupt (2007).jpg |
| Leader4: | Herbert Haupt |
| Party4: | Freedom Party of Austria |
| Last Election4: | 26.91%, 52 seats |
| Seats4: | 18 |
| Seat Change4: | 34 |
| Popular Vote4: | 491,328 |
| Percentage4: | 10.01% |
| Swing4: | 16.90pp |
| Image5: | Alexander Van der Bellen1.jpg |
| Leader5: | Alexander Van der Bellen |
| Party5: | The Greens – The Green Alternative |
| Last Election5: | 7.40%, 14 seats |
| Seats5: | 17 |
| Seat Change5: | 3 |
| Popular Vote5: | 464,980 |
| Percentage5: | 9.47% |
| Swing5: | 2.07pp |
| Chancellor | |
| Before Election: | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Before Party: | Austrian People's Party |
| After Election: | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| After Party: | Austrian People's Party |
Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002,[1] after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) emerged as the largest party, winning 79 of the 183 seats, the first time it had been the largest party in the National Council since 1966.[2] It continued its coalition government with the FPÖ, which lost almost two-thirds of its seats.[3] Voter turnout was 84%.[4]
The table below lists parties represented in the 21st National Council.
| Name | Ideology | Leader | 1999 result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||
| SPÖ | Social Democratic Party of Austria | Social democracy | Alfred Gusenbauer | 33.2% | |||
| FPÖ | Freedom Party of Austria | Right-wing populism Euroscepticism | Herbert Haupt | 26.9% | |||
| ÖVP | Austrian People's Party | Christian democracy | Wolfgang Schüssel | 26.9% | |||
| GRÜNE | The Greens – The Green Alternative | Green politics | Alexander Van der Bellen | 7.4% | |||
| State | ÖVP | SPÖ | FPÖ | Grüne | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42.4 | 45.8 | 6.4 | 4.7 | 0.7 | |
| 30.5 | 38.3 | 23.6 | 6.2 | 1.4 | |
| 47.8 | 36.8 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 1.3 | |
| 42.6 | 37.0 | 10.4 | 8.7 | 1.3 | |
| 46.7 | 30.8 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 1.4 | |
| 44.6 | 37.0 | 9.6 | 7.0 | 1.8 | |
| 51.9 | 24.5 | 10.0 | 11.6 | 2.0 | |
| 49.2 | 20.1 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 3.2 | |
| 30.7 | 43.8 | 8.0 | 15.1 | 2.4 | |
| 42.3 | 36.5 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 1.7 | |
| Source: Austrian Interior Ministry |