Bruneian general election, 1962

The first and so far only General election was held in Brunei in January, 1962. A. M. Azahari's Brunei People's Party won all 10 of the elected seats in the 21-seat Legislative Council.

Results

Aftermath

Despite the BPP's win, they failed to take power. The first meeting of the Legislative Council was scheduled for 5 December, 1962. Before this, the BPP announced that they would submit a resolution for the return of British North Borneo and Sarawak to Brunei in order to form an independent state known as the North Borneo Federation, reject Brunei's entry into Malaysia, and declare Bruneian independence in 1963. In response, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III rejected the proposed resolution and postponed the opening of the Legislative Council to the 19th of December.

The Sultan's announcement resulted in the start of an armed insurrection, the Brunei Revolt on 8 December. The Sultan declared the BPP illegal the next day, and the insurrection was put down after five months. The partially elected Council was never in session, and was later replaced by the 20-seat all-appointed council still in existence today.