However , all 436 candidates stood for election as independents .
They were the first elections since 1969 and followed a referendum the previous year which had made the country a one - party state , with the National Union for Independence and Revolution as the sole legal party .
All 436 candidates stood for election as independents .
They were the first elections since 1969 and followed a referendum the previous year which had made the country a one - party state , with the National Union for Independence and Revolution as the sole legal party .