1983 Austrian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 April 1983. The result saw the Socialist Party win 90 of 183 seats, enough to secure them a fifth term in government, albeit without the absolute majority the party had held since 1971. This prompted Bruno Kreisky to stand down as SPÖ leader and Chancellor in favour of Fred Sinowatz. The SPÖ subsequently formed a coalition with the Freedom Party of Austria, which was still a liberal party at the time. Voter turnout was 93%.

1983 Austrian legislative election

← 1979 24 April 1983 1986 →
All 183 seats in the National Council 92 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Bruno Kreisky Alois Mock Norbert Steger Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ Last election 51.03%, 95 seats 41.90%, 77 seats 6.06%, 11 seats Seats won 90 81 12 Seat change 5 4 1 Popular vote 2,312,529 2,097,808 241,789 Percentage 47.65% 43.22% 4.98% Swing 3.38 pp 1.32 pp 1.08 pp
Results by state
Chancellor before election Bruno Kreisky SPÖ Elected Chancellor Fred Sinowatz SPÖ

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Socialist Party of Austria	2,312,529	47.65	90	–5
	Austrian People's Party	2,097,808	43.22	81	+4
	Freedom Party of Austria	241,789	4.98	12	+1
	United Greens of Austria	93,798	1.93	0	New
	Alternative List Austria	65,816	1.36	0	New
	Communist Party of Austria	31,912	0.66	0	0
	Austria Party	5,851	0.12	0	New
	Stop Immigrants Movement	3,914	0.08	0	New
Total		4,853,417	100.00	183	0
Valid votes		4,853,417	98.60
Invalid/blank votes		69,037	1.40
Total votes		4,922,454	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,316,436	92.59
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Results by state

State	SPÖ	ÖVP	FPÖ	Others
Burgenland	51.4	44.3	2.2	2.2
Carinthia	52.9	32.1	10.7	4.3
Lower Austria	45.9	48.1	3.0	3.0
Upper Austria	46.3	43.5	6.0	4.2
Salzburg	41.3	46.1	8.0	4.6
Styria	49.4	42.3	4.0	4.3
Tyrol	34.8	57.4	4.4	3.4
Vorarlberg	27.3	60.3	7.2	5.2
Vienna	56.6	33.6	4.4	5.4
Austria	47.7	43.2	5.0	4.1
Source: SORA