In the fall of 2011, Tunisia and Morocco experienced elections that were seen as important milestones on the path to political reform in each country. The Tunisian vote for a Constituent Assembly was an immediate outcome of the country's revolution in early 2011 against the authoritarian regime of Zayn al-Abidin Ben Ali. These were the first open, free elections in Tunisia's history, and were recognized at home and abroad as a historic development. The assembly was entrusted with framing a new constitution for Tunisia and essentially rebuilding the country's political system in the revolution's aftermath. Morocco's parliamentary election was less "historic" but no less important in being part of the country's political reform process and constitutional reform, initiated in a top-down manner by the Moroccan monarchy in 2011. This process, aimed at strengthening the Moroccan political party system was a response to protests (inspired in part by the Tunisian revolution) against the existing political system in Morocco. The elections in both countries were preceded by an important preparation period in which parties organized their ranks and finalized the political platforms to be presented to voters, leading up to the campaign period and finally to the voting day itself. This paper offers an in-depth overview of the election events in Tunisia and Morocco, and an analysis of the vote in the context of political reform in North Africa. It argues that as dramatic as the Tunisian and Moroccan elections were, more attention should be given to political and social factors that have underscored developments in each country. In Tunisia's case, these include the country's historic outstanding features of political stability, social homogeneity, religious moderation, and a strong tradition of public association. In Morocco, the monarchy's role in politics and the traditional weak stature of political parties have over the years affected the outcome of electoral contests. Many of these features played an important role in the 2011 elections, and warrant greater attention. Sources for this study include publications of various political parties and social movements, media sources and secondary literature. The result is a more nuanced analysis of these elections. This paper presents a more comprehensive framework for contextualizing these events, which may assist researchers studying electoral processes carried out in the aftermath of political upheavals in other Middle Eastern and North African countries.