2002 Austrian legislative election

2002 Austrian legislative election

← 1999 24 November 2002 2006 →

All 183 seats in the National Council
92 seats needed for a majority
Turnout84.27% (Increase 3.85 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Wolfgang Schüssel Alfred Gusenbauer
Party ÖVP SPÖ
Last election 26.91%, 52 seats 33.15%, 65 seats
Seats won 79 69
Seat change Increase 27 Increase 4
Popular vote 2,076,833 1,792,499
Percentage 42.30% 36.51%
Swing Increase 15.39 pp Increase 3.36 pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Herbert Haupt Alexander Van der Bellen
Party FPÖ Greens
Last election 26.91%, 52 seats 7.40%, 14 seats
Seats won 18 17
Seat change Decrease 34 Increase 3
Popular vote 491,328 464,980
Percentage 10.01% 9.47%
Swing Decrease 16.90 pp Increase 2.07 pp


Chancellor before election

Wolfgang Schüssel
ÖVP

Elected Chancellor

Wolfgang Schüssel
ÖVP

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]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 21st National Council.

Name Ideology Leader 1999 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy
Alfred Gusenbauer
33.2%
65 / 183
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism

Herbert Haupt
26.9%
52 / 183
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy
Wolfgang Schüssel
26.9%
52 / 183
GRÜNE The Greens
Die Grünen
Green politics
Alexander Van der Bellen
7.4%
14 / 183

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Austrian People's Party2,076,83342.3079+27
Social Democratic Party of Austria1,792,49936.5169+4
Freedom Party of Austria491,32810.0118–34
The Greens464,9809.4717+3
Liberal Forum48,0830.9800
Communist Party of Austria27,5680.5600
Socialist Left Party3,9060.080New
The Democrats2,4390.050New
Christian Voters Community [de]2,0090.0400
Total4,909,645100.001830
Valid votes4,909,64598.54
Invalid/blank votes72,6161.46
Total votes4,982,261100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,912,59284.27
Source: Interior Ministry

Results by state

State ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ Grüne Others
 Burgenland 42.4 45.8 6.4 4.7 0.7
 Carinthia 30.5 38.3 23.6 6.2 1.4
 Lower Austria 47.8 36.8 6.9 7.2 1.3
 Upper Austria 42.6 37.0 10.4 8.7 1.3
 Salzburg 46.7 30.8 10.7 10.4 1.4
 Styria 44.6 37.0 9.6 7.0 1.8
 Tyrol 51.9 24.5 10.0 11.6 2.0
 Vorarlberg 49.2 20.1 13.0 14.5 3.2
 Vienna 30.7 43.8 8.0 15.1 2.4
 Austria 42.3 36.5 10.0 9.5 1.7
Source: Austrian Interior Ministry

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p197 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, pp219-220
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p179
  4. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p217