The 2002 Portuguese legislative election took place on 17 March. The election renewed all 230 members of the Assembly of the Republic. These elections were called after the resignation of the then incumbent Prime Minister, António Guterres after the defeat of the Socialist Party in the 2001 local elections. That fact, plus the problematic state of the country's finances were the main arguments of the right-wing parties, which led them to be the favourites to win the election. Voter turnout was slightly higher than in 1999, as 61.5% of the electorate cast a ballot.