First elections

In the first elections since independence in June 1981, Hassan Gouled was re-elected; it must be said that he was the only candidate.

On 21 May 1982, 65 unopposed candidates were elected to the legislature.

Multi-party elections for the legislative assembly were not held until 18 December 1992 and they were won by the ruling party. A third party, the Front for the Renewal of Democracy (FRUD) called for a boycott of all elections.

Hassan Gouled once again won the presidential election on May 7 1993. His government had been engaged in a guerilla war with FRUD in which none of them achieved a clear victory. Prisoners held by both the government and FRUD were released on the 1^st of December 1993 and in June 1994 the secretary of FRUD declared that his movement was in favour of ending the war and reaffirmed its belief in "the democratic and institutional framework of the Republic".