1971 Austrian legislative election

Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 10 October 1971,^[1] following electoral reforms intended to benefit smaller parties. The size of the National Council was increased from 165 to 183 members, and the proportionality of the seat distribution was increased as well.^[2]

1971 Austrian legislative election

← 1970 10 October 1971 1975 →
All 183 seats in the National Council 92 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Bruno Kreisky Hermann Withalm [de] Friedrich Peter Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ Last election 48.42%, 81 seats 44.69%, 78 seats 5.52%, 6 seats Seats won 93 80 10 Seat change 12 2 4 Popular vote 2,280,168 1,964,713 286,473 Percentage 50.04% 43.11% 6.29% Swing 1.62 pp 1.58 pp 0.77 pp
Vote share by state Seats won by state
Chancellor before election Bruno Kreisky SPÖ Elected Chancellor Bruno Kreisky SPÖ

The Socialist Party, which had governed in minority since 1970, won 93 of the 183 seats, a majority of three. Voter turnout was 92%.^[3] It was the first time that the Socialists had won an absolute majority at an election. They also won just over half of the vote, something no Austrian party had previously achieved in a free election. Socialist leader Bruno Kreisky continued as Chancellor.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Socialist Party of Austria	2,280,168	50.04	93	+12
	Austrian People's Party	1,964,713	43.11	80	+2
	Freedom Party of Austria	248,473	5.45	10	+4
	Communist Party of Austria	61,762	1.36	0	0
	Offensive Left	1,874	0.04	0	New
Total		4,556,990	100.00	183	+18
Valid votes		4,556,990	98.90
Invalid/blank votes		50,626	1.10
Total votes		4,607,616	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,984,448	92.44
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Results by state

State	SPÖ	ÖVP	FPÖ	KPÖ	ÖL
Burgenland	50.2	46.4	2.9	0.5	-
Carinthia	55.0	33.8	9.7	1.6	-
Lower Austria	47.0	48.6	3.1	1.2	-
Upper Austria	48.0	44.7	6.5	0.8	-
Salzburg	45.2	42.5	11.5	0.8	-
Styria	49.0	44.5	4.9	1.6	-
Tyrol	37.8	56.5	5.2	0.6	-
Vorarlberg	36.6	51.6	11.1	0.7	-
Vienna	59.5	33.9	4.3	2.1	0.2
Austria	50.0	43.1	5.5	1.4	0.0
Source: Institute for Social Research and Consulting (SORA)[4]