Tunisian parliamentary election, 1981

Early parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia on 1 November 1981, following changes to the constitution to allow for multi-party politics after 18 years of one-party rule by the Socialist Destourian Party (PSD). The PSD contested the elections as the lead party of the National Front, an alliance with the Tunisian General Labour Union. Three other parties also nominated candidates; the Movement of Socialist Democrats, the Popular Unity Movement and the Tunisian Communist Party. In total 366 candidates (including 18 independents) contested the 136 seats.^[1]

According to official results, the National Front won 94.2% of the vote and all 136 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Voter turnout was 84.9%.^[2] Opposition parties would not manage to win seats until the 1994 elections.

Results

Summary of the 1 November 1981 Tunisian Chamber of Deputies election results

Parties		Votes	%	Seats	+/-
	National Front (PSD-UGTT)	1,828,363	94.2	136	+15
	Movement of Socialist Democrats	63,234	3.3	-	-
	Popular Unity Movement	18,755	1.0	-	-
	Tunisian Communist Party	14,677	0.8	-	-
	Independents	7,966	0.4	-	-
Valid votes		1,941,858	99.0	136	+15
Blank or invalid votes		20,269	1.0
Total		1,962,127	100.0
Voter turnout		84.9
Electorate		2,311,031
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

1. Tunisia Inter-Parliamentary Union
2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p918 ISBN 0-19-829645-2