Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, 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. It continued its coalition government with the FPÖ, which lost almost two-thirds of its seats. Voter turnout was 84%.

The Freedom Party of Austria is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Austria. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the third largest of five parties in the National Council, with 30 of the 183 seats, and won 16.2% of votes cast in the 2019 legislative election and it is represented in all nine state legislatures. On a European level, the FPÖ is a founding member of the Identity and Democracy Party and its three MEPs sit with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group.