1954 Gold Coast general election

Last updated

General elections were held in the Gold Coast on 15 June 1954. The result was a victory for Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party, which won 71 of the 104 seats.

Contents

Background

The election was held following the approval of a new constitution on 29 April 1954. The new constitution meant that assembly members were no longer elected by the tribal councils, the Assembly was enlarged, and all members were chosen by direct election from equal, single-member constituencies. It established a cabinet composed of African ministers, and only defense and foreign policy remained in the hands of the governor; the elected assembly was given control over the majority of internal affairs. [1]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
Convention People's Party 391,81755.4472
Northern People's Party 68,7099.7215
Ghana Congress Party 32,1684.551
Togoland Congress 25,2143.573
Muslim Association Party 21,1723.001
Anlo Youth Organisation 11,2591.591
Independents156,40122.1311
Total706,740100.00104
Registered voters/turnout1,225,603
Source: Sternberger et al. [2]

Aftermath

In May 1956, Nkrumah's government issued a white paper containing proposals for Gold Coast independence. The British Government stated it would agree to a firm date for independence if a reasonable majority for such a step were obtained in the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly after a general election. This election was held in July 1956, and resulted in another win for the CPP. Gold Coast became the independent nation of Ghana on 6 March 1957.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Ghana</span> History of the African country Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after Almoravid rule ended, and the kingdom was later incorporated into subsequent Sahelian empires, such as the Mali Empire several centuries later. Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Sénégal River and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal, Mauritania and Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast (British colony)</span> British colony from 1821 to 1957

The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the administration of the Governor of the Gold Coast. These were the Gold Coast itself, Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate and the British Togoland trust territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention People's Party</span> Political party in Ghana

The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Ghana</span> Parliament in Ghana since 1950

The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Gold Coast general election</span>

General elections were held in the Gold Coast on 17 July 1956. The result was a victory for Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party, which won 71 of the 104 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Gold Coast general election</span>

General elections were held in the Gold Coast on 8 February 1951. Although elections had been held for the Legislative Council since 1925, the Council did not have complete control over the legislation, and the voting franchise was limited to residents of urban areas meeting property requirements and the councils of chiefs. The 1951 elections were the first in Africa to be held under universal suffrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 Ghanaian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary appointments were held in Ghana in 1965. As the country was a one-party state at the time, no parties except President Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP), were allowed to participate. All candidates were appointed by the President and his party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Ghanaian history</span>

Ghana gained independence from the British on 6 March 1957. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country became a republic on July 1, 1960.

Joseph Henry Allassani was a Ghanaian teacher and politician. He was a member of parliament and a minister of state during the first republic. He was the first health minister in the first republic of Ghana.

John Arthur was a Ghanaian politician. He served as minister of state and a member of parliament during the first republic. He was a regional commissioner for the Western Region and a member of parliament for the Sekondi electoral district.

Akantigsi Afoko was a Ghanaian teacher and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly representing the Northern territories from 1951 to 1954. In 1954 he was elected to represent the Builsa electoral district in the Legislative Assembly, he was re-elected in 1956 and maintained his post as the member of parliament for the constituency until 1965. In 1965 he became the member of parliament for the Sandema constituency. He served in this capacity until the ousting of the Nkrumah government in 1966. Prior to politics Afoko was a trained teacher who taught at Fumbisi, a town in the Builsa District of Ghana.

William Atia Amoro was a Ghanaian politician in the first republic. He was the member of parliament for the Bongo constituency from 1954 to 1966. While in parliament he served as parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior.

Jambaidu Awuni was a Ghanaian politician in the first republic. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly representing the Northern territories on the ticket of the Northern People's Party (NPP) from 1951 to 1954. He was re-elected into the legislative in 1956 to represent the Kusasi Central constituency from 1956 until 1965.

Modesto Kwasi Apaloo was a Ghanaian politician. He was a Member of parliament and was the founder and leader of the defunct Anlo Youth Organisation.

Edmund Nee Ocansey was a Ghanaian politician. He was the member of parliament for the Osudoku constituency from 1956 to 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghana Independence Act 1957</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Ghana Independence Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted the Gold Coast fully responsible government within the British Commonwealth of Nations under the name of Ghana. The Act received the Royal Assent on 7 February 1957 and Ghana came into being on 6 March 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political history of Ghana</span>

The Political history of Ghana recounts the history of varying political systems that existed in Ghana during pre-colonial times, the colonial era and after independence. Pre-colonial Ghana was made up of several states and ethnic groups whose political system was categorized by 3 main administrative models; Centralized, Non-centralized and Theocratic states. In the colonial era, the British Empire employed different forms of government among its four territorial possessions in the Gold Coast. Indirect rule was implemented in the late 19th century after its success in Northern Nigeria. From the 1940s, native Ghanaians yearned for more autonomy. This resulted in the several constitutional reforms as well as the creation of the office of the Prime Minister in 1952.

References

  1. The Politics of the Independence Movements Archived 2008-02-14 at the Wayback Machine Ghana.co.uk
  2. Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p786