General elections were held in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 8 November 1959 to elect a

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, following the promulgation of a new constitution on 1 June. They were also the first elections held since the proclamation of a republic in 1957. In the presidential election, incumbent

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...

, who had become president upon the republic's proclamation, was the only candidate to obtain the endorsement of 30 political figures, as required by the constitution. He was thus unopposed for a full five-year term. In the parliamentary elections, Bourguiba's

Neo Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party ( ar, الحزب الحر الدستوري الجديد, '; French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 by a group o ...

won all 90 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, with only the

Tunisian Communist Party The Tunisian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي التونسي ' ; french: Parti Communiste Tunisien) was a Marxist political party in Tunisia. The PCT was founded on 21 May 1934 as the Tunisian federation of the French Communist P ...

running against them in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and

Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...

. Voter turnout was 91.7%.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p918 This would be the last even nominally contested election held in Tunisia until

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In 1963, a year before the Chamber's term ran out, the Neo Destour was declared the only legally permitted party, though Tunisia had effectively been a one-party state since independence.

Results

President

Chamber of Deputies

References

{{Tunisian elections

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Elections in Tunisia 1959 in Tunisia Single-candidate elections Presidential elections in Tunisia November 1959 events in Africa