Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002,[2] 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 result was a victory for the ÖVP, which won 79 of the 183 seats, the first time it had been the largest party in the National Council since 1966.[3] It continued its coalition government with the FPÖ, which had lost almost two-thirds of its seats.[4] Voter turnout was 84.3%.[5]