The 1961 presidential election went to three ballots and was decided narrowly

Evidence

These divergent styles and agendas came to a head at the National Assembly on July 6, 1961. Parliament started its deliberations at 9:30 a.m. as scheduled. Three ballots were required unless one of the candidates won two-thirds of the votes in the first ballot. The results of the first ballot were announced at 10:15 a.m. Each candidate received sixty votes, and one vote was disqualified as it was not decipherable. In the second round, Sheikh Ali advanced by two votes. Once this was pronounced, many thought Sheikh Ali would win the last and final round. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 595

Categorization

• XREF: Provides the raw timeline detail the reader wants for reconstructing the 1960s political narrative.