Legislative elections were held in

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 ...

on 10 September 1967 for the Territorial Assembly.Strong vote for autonomy in French Polynesia
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', October 1967, p25 The result was a victory for pro-autonomy parties E'a Api and Pupu Here Ai'a, which won 16 of the 30 seats.

Background

The

Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People The Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People (, abbreviated RDPT) was a political party in French Oceania/French Polynesia. The party was led by Pouvanaa a Oopa. Political profile Pouvanaa had been elected to the French National Assembly in 1949. ...

, which had won the previous elections in 1962, was dissolved in November 1963.

Electoral system

The 30 members of the Territorial Assembly were elected from five constituencies; the

Austral Islands The Austral Islands ( officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France, overseas country of the France, French Republic in the Oceania, South Pacific. Geographicall ...

(2 seats), the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

(6), the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

(2),

Tuamotu The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...

–

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

(4) and the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

(16).

Campaign

The main campaign issue was the question of self-governance. At one of its final meetings, the previous Assembly had debated proposals by Jean-Baptiste Céran-Jérusalémy that the territory should be an autonomous territory in the

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

, that a new flag should be created for the territory and used alongside the French flag and that Tahitian should become a co-official language alongside French. Assembly members voted to delay the decision until after the upcoming elections.Tahiti hotting up for lively Assembly poll
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1967, p27 Following the Assembly debate, two new anti-autonomy parties were formed; the Democratic Polynesian Movement and Ia Ora O Polynesia. Other anti-autonomy parties included the Tahitian Union–

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (, , UNR) was a Gaullist political party in France, formed in support of Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 189 of 466 seats in the November 1958 elections. In 1962, the UNR grouped ...

alliance led by Rudy Bambridge and the Tahitian Democratic Union led by Alfred Poroi. Pro-autonomy parties included E'a Api led by Francis Sanford, Pupu Here Ai'a led by John Teariki and Te Oto I Te Nunaa led by Charles Poroi. A total of 33 parties or party lists contested the elections, with 18 running in the

. Pupu Here Ai'a was the only party to contest all five constituencies.

Results

Twenty of the thirty winning candidates were new to the Assembly. The five candidates from minor parties were considered pro-autonomy.

Elected members

Aftermath

Following the elections, E'a Api and Pupu Here Ai'a agreed to work together to form a government.New moves on internal self-government in French Polynesia
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', 1 December 1967, pp16–18 The new Assembly opened on 1 November and elected the five-member Council of Government; the Tahitian Democratic Union voted with the governing parties, electing Leon Assaud, Jean Roy Bambridge, Jean Juventin, Jacques Laurey and André Lonfevre were elected. Following the death of Marcel Hart in January 1969, he was replaced by Sam Koua. Rudy Bambridge left the Assembly in March 1969 and was replaced by Jacques Teuira. Ah Kong Sham Koua also entered the Assembly during its term.Les élus de l’assemblée territoriale
Assembly of French Polynesia

References

{{French Polynesian elections

Elections in French Polynesia 1960s in French Polynesia 1967 in the French colonial empire September 1967 in Oceania Election and referendum articles with incomplete results