General elections were held in Sudan to elect a President and National Assembly between 2 and 17 March 1996. They were the first elections since 1986 due to a military coup in 1989, and the first simultaneous elections for the presidency and National Assembly. 125 members of the 400-seat National Assembly had been nominated before the election, leaving 275 seats to be elected (of which 51 were ultimately uncontested). 900 candidates ran for the 275 seats. There were no political parties at the time, and all candidates ran as independents.