1976 Malawian general election

Last updated
1976 Malawian general election
Flag of Malawi.svg
  1971 24 May 1976 1978  

All 85 seats in the National Assembly
43 seats needed for a majority
 First party
  Dr HK Banda, first president of Malawi.jpg
Leader Hastings Banda
Party MCP
Last election56
Seats won70
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 14

1976 Malawian parliamentary election - Results by constituency.svg
Results by constituency

General elections were due to be held in Malawi on 24 May 1976. They were the first to be held after President Hastings Banda became president for life in 1971.

Banda's Malawi Congress Party had been the only legally permitted party since 1966. Each of the 70 constituencies had a maximum of five candidates proposed by at least two registered voters and nominated by MCP committees. All prospective candidates had to declare their allegiance to Banda in order to stand. These candidates' names were then submitted to Banda, who personally vetted the prospective candidates before selecting a single candidate for each constituency. As a result, no voting took place on election day and all 70 candidates were returned unopposed. [1] [2] [3]

Following the elections, Banda nominated another 15 members to the National Assembly. [1]

Results

PartySeats+/–
Malawi Congress Party 70+14
Appointed members15
Total85+17
Source: IPU

References

  1. 1 2 Malawi Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. Malawi: Era of One Party Rule (1964-1992) EISA
  3. "Malawi Handbook" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 1971.