Legislative elections were held in French Oceania on 18 January 1953, the first to the new Territorial Assembly, which replaced the Representative Assembly.M. Poroi's victory in Tahiti
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1953, p90

Results

The result was a victory for the Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People (RDPT) led by

Pouvanaa a Oopa Pouvana'a a O'opa (May 10, 1895 – January 10, 1977) was a Tahitian politician and advocate for French Polynesian independence. He is viewed as the ''metua'' (father) of French Polynesia's independence movement. Pouvanaa served as a Deputy i ...

, which won 18 of the 25 seats.Tension in French Oceania
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1953, p15 The

Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (, UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation, mainly active during the Fourth Republic (1947–58). It was a loosely organised "cadre p ...

won five seats and the

Rally of the French People The Rally of the French People ( , RPF) was a right-wing French political party, existing from 1947 to 1955 and led by Charles de Gaulle. Foundation The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resi ...

two; the two parties had run together as the Union for the Defence of the Interests of French Oceania (UDIOF). Oopa failed to win a seat in Papeete, and subsequently stated that he would complain about election fraud to the French government.Jean-Marc Regnault (2003)
Pouvanaa a Oopa: Victime de la raison d’Etat Les documents parlent
', p20 Governor René Petitbon organised an official enquiry, which concluded that the allegations were unfounded.Lively politics in Tahiti
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', May 1953, p101

By constituency

Aftermath

Following the elections, the Assembly convened for the first time on 14 March. Jean-Baptiste Céran-Jérusalémy, a member of the RDPT, was elected President of the Assembly two days later. Following a dispute in the Assembly on 10 April, a fight broke out between Noël Ilari and Alfred Poroi. Ilari then challenged Poroi to a duel, which Poroi agreed should take place at the end of the day. However, the Governor broadcast a radio message, banning it from taking place and stationing police at the homes of the two.

References

{{French Polynesian elections

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

Elections in French Polynesia 1950s in French Polynesia 1953 in the French Union