1965 Tanzanian general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox election

| country = Tanzania

| previous_election = 1962 Tanganyikan presidential election

| previous_year = 1962

| election_date = September 1965

| next_election = 1970 Tanzanian general election

| next_year = 1970

| module = {{Infobox election

| embed = yes

| type = presidential

| election_name = Presidential election

| image1 = Julius Nyerere (1965).jpg

| nominee1 = Julius Nyerere

| party1 = Tanganyika African National Union

| popular_vote1 = 2,520,904

| percentage1 = 96.60%

| title = President

| before_election = Julius Nyerere

| before_party = Tanganyika African National Union

| after_election = Julius Nyerere

| after_party = Tanganyika African National Union

}}}}{{Politics of Tanzania}}

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,Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp880-884 {{ISBN|0-19-829645-2}} although only 32.5% of the country's 9.8 million residents were registered.[http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/tan1965election.htm Tanzania: The 1965 One-Party Elections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902221749/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/tan1965election.htm |date=2010-09-02 }} EISA

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.