1962 Oranian general election (African Israel)

The 1962 Oranian general election was held on November 3, 1962, being simultaneously the country's first presidential and legislative election. The two-round election was set to determine the president for the next seven years and the unicameral National Assembly for the following five years. The alliance of the Pied-Noir Oranian National Party and the Harki Oranian Muslim Front won a decisive victory against the Muslim Liberation Alliance and the Oranian Communist Party, gaining control of the presidency and the National Assembly.

The results of the election and the domination of the National Party set the stage for the creation of the Politique Nationale, the legal basis for discrimination against Muslims that would last for the next twenty years. These policies would be opposed by all other political parties up until their dissolution in the wake of the Separatist Law of 1965 and the Anti-Communist Law of 1968.

Background
These elections were held following the adoption of the Oranian Constitution on September 15 and in the midst of the ongoing Algerian Population Exchange, where hundreds of thousands of Europeans, Jews, and Muslims found themselves forced to flee to either Algeria or Orania. This context, coupled with the terrorist attacks of October 25, radicalized the pro-French electorate who turned their attention to the newly formed National Party and Muslim Front. These parties formed an alliance whose goal was the expulsion of all 'separatist' from the country, the redistribution of land in favor of newly arriving Pieds-Noirs and Harkis and a strong crackdown on terrorism. In this context, the remaining anti-colonialist Muslims formed the Muslim Liberation Alliance, a party whose goal was to fight for rights of those that were threatened with expulsion by the Oranian authorities. At the same time, the Oranian Communist Party was opposed to the population exchange and was interested in building a socialist state for all Oranians, eventually seeking reunification with Algeria.

Candidates
The National Party's field of candidates was restricted by the provisions of the Évian Accords, as those that had committed terrorist attacks against the French State would be prohibited from holding political office, excluding members of the popular OAS (Secret Army Organization), the foremost Pied-Noir organization. After a long internal debate, the National Party selected Edme Canat, co-founder of the French Algerian Front, as their candidate.

The Muslim Front chose one of its founders, Saïd Boualam, as its candidate to the election. Boualam had proven its dedication to French Algeria through his involvement with the French Algerian Front, making him largely popular in both Pied-Noir and Harki circles. Meanwhile, the Liberation Alliance chose notable Algerian nationalist Miloud El Mehadji. The Communist Party chose little known professor Louis Althusser as its candidate.