Algerian Assembly election, 1951

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Elections to the Algerian Assembly were held in Algeria in February 1951. [1] Like other post-1948 elections in French Algeria, it was rigged by the authorities to ensure the defeat of Algerian nationalists. [2]

Contents

Electoral system

The Assembly was elected by two colleges, each of which elected 60 seats; the First College consisted of Europeans and évolués, whilst the Second College was composed of the remainder of the Algerian population.

<i>Évolué</i> in French and Belgian colonies, a native African or Asian who had “evolved” by becoming Europeanised through education or assimilation and had accepted European values and patterns of behavior

Évolué is a French label used during the colonial era to refer to a native African or Asian who had "evolved" by becoming Europeanised through education or assimilation and had accepted European values and patterns of behavior. It is most commonly used to refer to individuals within the Belgian and French colonial empires. Évolués spoke French, followed European laws, usually held white-collar jobs, and lived primarily in urban areas of the colony.

Results

PartyFirst CollegeSecond CollegeSeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsTotal+/–
Rally of the French People 32320
Radical Socialist Party 130130
Democratic Union of the Algerian Manifesto 77–1
French Section of the Workers' International 55+1
Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties 58–4
Popular Republican Movement 224+1
Algerian Union 33+3
Algerian Communist Party 110
Progressive independents1515+1
Independents72734–2
Total60601200
Source: Sternberger et al.

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References

  1. Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p432 (in German)
  2. Frank Tachau (1994) Political parties of the Middle East and North Africa, Greenwood Press, p10