| Country: | Gibraltar |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 1992 Gibraltar general election |
| Previous Year: | 1992 |
| Next Election: | 2000 Gibraltar general election |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
| Seats For Election: | 15 seats in the House of Assembly |
| Majority Seats: | 8 |
| Election Date: | 16 May 1996 |
| Image1: | Peter_Caruana_portrait.jpg |
| Leader1: | Peter Caruana |
| Party1: | Gibraltar Social Democrats |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 66,190 |
| Percentage1: | 52.20% |
| Leader2: | Joe Bossano |
| Party2: | Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party |
| Seats2: | 7 |
| Popular Vote2: | 54,463 |
| Percentage2: | 42.95% |
| Chief Minister | |
| Before Election: | Joe Bossano |
| After Election: | Peter Caruana |
| Before Party: | Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party |
| After Party: | Gibraltar Social Democrats |
General elections were held in Gibraltar in May 1996. They were won by Peter Caruana's Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), who took over 50% of the popular vote and eight of the 15 contested seats, defeating incumbent Joe Bossano's Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.
| Party or alliance | Slogan | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| GSD | "A Vision For Our Future And For Our Children" | ||
| GSLP | "Into The 21st Century With The GSLP" | ||
| GNP | |||
The first fifteen candidates were elected to the House of Assembly.