United Party | |
---|---|
Leader | Kofi Abrefa Busia |
Founded | 1957 |
Dissolved | 1964 |
Merger of | National Liberation Movement Northern People's Party Anlo Youth Organisation Muslim Association Party Togoland Congress Ga Shifimo Kpee |
Headquarters | Accra |
The United Party was the main opposition party in the First Republic of Ghana. It was the only opposition party throughout its existence from 1957 until 1964 when Ghana became a one party state.
After Ghana attained its independence on 6 March 1957, the Parliament of Ghana passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act, 1957 (C.A. 38), which banned all parties and organizations that were confined to or identifiable to any racial, ethnic or religious groups with effect from 31 December 1957. The title of the Act was:
An Act to prohibit organizations using or engaging in tribal, regional,
racial and religious propaganda to the detriment of any community, or securing the election of persons on account of their tribal, regional or
religious affiliations and for other purpose connected therewith. [1]
This law meant that all the existing political parties would become illegal. These parties included the Northern People's Party, Muslim Association Party, National Liberation Movement (NLM), Anlo Youth Organization, Togoland Congress and the Ga Shifimo Kpee. [2] They therefore merged under the leadership of Kofi Abrefa Busia as the United Party. [3]
The party's effectiveness as the opposition suffered when it was no more recognised as the official opposition after Ghana became a republic in 1960. In September 1962, the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for a one-party state. This was accepted following a referendum in January 1964. [4] This effectively sounded the death of all opposition parties in Ghana and this situation persisted until February 24, 1966 when the Nkrumah government was overthrown in a coup d'état.
The United Party, though it was an amalgam of all opposition parties of the time, was dominated by the NLM which was the biggest opposition party before its formation. The NLM saw some of its roots in the Ghana Congress Party and the United Gold Coast Convention. The following parties all claimed their roots from the "UGCC - UP tradition".
The area of the Republic of Ghana became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. 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. 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. Around the same time, south of the Mali empire in present-day northern Ghana, the Kingdom of Dagbon emerged. The decentralised states ruled by the tindaamba were unified into a kingdom. Many sub-kingdoms would later arise from Dagbon including the Mossi Kingdoms of Burkina Faso and Bouna Kingdom of Ivory Coast. Dagbon pioneered Ghana's earliest learning institutions, including a university town, and a writing system prior to European arrival.
Lieutenant General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa was a Ghanaian soldier, farmer, traditional ruler and politician. He was the head of state of Ghana and leader of the military government in 1969 and then chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970. He continued as a farmer and political activist. He was elected a member of Parliament in 1979, but he was executed before he could take his seat. He was executed together with two other former heads of state, General Kutu Acheampong and General Fred Akuffo, and five other generals, in June 1979. He was also popularly referred to by his title Okatakyie Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa and was in addition the abakomahene of Krobo in the Asante-Mampong Traditional Area of the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
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The National Liberation Movement was a Ghanaian political party formed in 1954. Set up by disaffected Ashanti members of the Convention People's Party, who were joined by Kofi Abrefa Busia, the NLM opposed the process of centralization whilst supporting a continuing role for traditional leaders. It was led by Baffour Akoto, linguist to the Asantehene. The party gained some support in the 1956 Gold Coast general election and became the third largest party in the Assembly with 12 seats, behind the Convention People's Party and the Northern People's Party.
The Anlo Youth Organisation was a political party that existed in the Gold Coast and later Ghana. It campaigned for the Ewe people under British rule to stay within Ghana after independence. It ended by merging with other parties to form a united opposition to the Convention People's Party.
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The mass media in Ghana, includes television, radio, internet publishing and newspapers.
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The National Reconciliation Commission was established in January 2002 by the Parliament of Ghana. The goal of the commission was to establish an "accurate, complete and historical record of violations and abuses of human rights inflicted on persons by public institutions and holders of public office during periods of unconstitutional government." The Commission was formed after a new democratic party won the elections in 2000. The Commission covered human rights violations in Ghana from 1957 to 1993. It looked into government abuses and military coups staged by former president Jerry Rawlings. The members of the Commission worked until the end of 2004.
Bukari Kpegla Adama was a Ghanaian politician and a minister of state in the Second Republic.
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