Colonel William A. Phillips

General elections were held for the first time in the newly formed Union of Tanzania in September 1965. The country had also just become a one-party state, with the Tanganyika African National Union as the sole legal party on the mainland, and the Afro-Shirazi Party was the only party in Zanzibar. For the National Assembly election there were two candidates from the same party in each constituency, whilst the presidential election was effectively a referendum on TANU leader Julius Nyerere's candidacy.

Voter turnout was 72% in the National Assembly election and 83% in the presidential election,[1] although only 32.5% of the country's 9.8 million residents were registered.[2]

In addition to the elected MPs, there were a further 94 unelected members; the 32 members of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council, 20 members nominated from Zanzibar, 17 regional commissioners, 15 members chosen by the National Assembly, and up to 10 members nominated by the president.[2]

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Julius NyerereTanganyika African National Union2,520,90496.60
Against88,6003.40
Total2,609,504100.00
Valid votes2,609,50498.99
Invalid/blank votes26,5371.01
Total votes2,636,041100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,187,21582.71
Source: Nohlen et al.

National Assembly

PartyVotes%Seats
TANUASP2,263,830100.00188
Total2,263,830100.00188
Valid votes2,263,83098.87
Invalid/blank votes25,7721.13
Total votes2,289,602100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,187,21571.84
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp880-884 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  2. ^ a b Tanzania: The 1965 One-Party Elections Archived 2010-09-02 at the Wayback Machine EISA