| Election Name: | 1961 Portuguese National Assembly election |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1957 Portuguese legislative election |
| Previous Year: | 1957 |
| Next Election: | 1965 Portuguese legislative election |
| Next Year: | 1965 |
| Seats For Election: | 130 seats to the National Assembly |
| Majority Seats: | 65 |
| Election Date: | 12 November 1961 |
| Leader1: | António de Oliveira Salazar |
| Party1: | National Union (Portugal) |
| Last Election1: | 120 seats |
| Seats1: | 130 |
| Seat Change1: | 10 |
| Popular Vote1: | 973,997 |
| Percentage1: | 100.0% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | António de Oliveira Salazar |
| Before Party: | National Union (Portugal) |
| After Election: | António de Oliveira Salazar |
| After Party: | National Union (Portugal) |
Parliamentary elections were held in Portugal on 12 November 1961.[1] The ruling National Union won all 130 seats unopposed.[2]
The number of seats in the National Assembly was increased from 120 to 130 prior to the elections.[3] The number of seats for Angola and Mozambique was increased from four each to seven each, whilst Portuguese India and Cape Verde each gained a seat, taking their totals to three and two respectively.[3] Mainland Portugal also gained two seats.[3]
Following the granting of Portuguese citizenship to the indigenous inhabitants of Angola and Mozambique, they were entitled to vote for the first time as long as they were literate, held a job in a recognised profession, or were taxpayers.[3]
A total of 25 opposition candidates registered to run in the elections on 12 lists.[2] [4] They officially withdrew their candidacies on 7 November, protesting against the government's failure to allow "free and clean elections".[2] The Monarchist list was rejected in Lisbon after arriving to hand in their list a minute late.[4]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Union | 100 | 130 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | – | – | |
| Total | 973,997 | 100 | 130 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,315,231 | 74.0 | – |
| align=left colspan=4 | Source: Nohlen & Stöver | ||