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General elections were held in the Gold Coast on 8 February 1951. Although elections had been held for the Legislative Council since 1925, [1] 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. [2] The 1951 elections were the first in Africa to be held under universal suffrage. [3]
Amongst growing calls for self-governance, such as the 1948 Accra Riots and unrest (which led to the arrest of the Big Six), the Coussey Committee was commissioned by the United Kingdom government. Its report led to the 1951 constitution, which gave the Executive Council an African majority, and created an 84-member Legislative Assembly, 38 of whom were to be elected by the people, 37 representing territorial councils, six appointed to represent commercial interests and three ex officio members appointed by the Governor. Those representing commercial interests and appointed by the Governor were all white. [4]
A total of 117 candidates contested the 38 elected seats. The Convention People's Party (CPP) contested every seat, while the United Gold Coast Convention and National Democratic Party provided its main opposition. There were also several independent candidates, as well as the Asante Kotoko party. General Secretary of the CPP, Kojo Botsio, won the Winneba seat unopposed, the only candidate to do so. [5]
Nkrumah's aide and later Finance Minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah is credited with organising the entire campaign while Nkrumah was still in Fort James prison, detained by the colonial government. Nkrumah duly won the Accra Central Municipal seat.
Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party won 34 of the 38 elected seats in the assembly, [6] claiming all five seats and nearly 95% of the vote in urban areas; [7] Nkrumah himself winning the Accra Central seat with 22,780 of the 23,122 votes cast. In rural areas the CPP won 29 of the 33 seats, taking around 72% of the vote. [8] The main opposition, the United Gold Coast Convention, fared badly, winning only three seats, and was disbanded following the elections. [9] Former members of the UGCC went on to form the Ghana Congress Party (which later became the United Party). [10] The other parties were unsuccessful. [11] [12] [13]
The CPP was also supported in the Assembly by 22 of the indirectly elected members, and thus held 56 of the 84 seats. [8]
| Party | Urban areas (direct election) | Rural areas (electoral colleges) | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| Convention People's Party | 58,585 | 91.31 | 5 | 1,950 | 71.88 | 29 | 34 | |
| United Gold Coast Convention | 5,574 | 8.69 | 0 | 763 | 28.12 | 3 | 3 | |
| National Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Independents | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 64,159 | 100.00 | 5 | 2,713 | 100.00 | 33 | 38 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 90,725 | – | ||||||
| Source: Sternberger et al., [14] Bob-Milliar | ||||||||
After winning the Accra Central seat, Nkrumah was released from prison, and was appointed "Leader of Government Business", [15] before becoming the country's first Prime Minister the following year after a constitutional amendment.
Another new constitution was promulgated in 1954, followed by elections the same year, also won by the CPP. Following another convincing election victory by Nkrumah's party in 1956, Gold Coast became the first sub-Saharan African state to gain independence (aside from apartheid South Africa) on 6 March 1957, changing its name to Ghana.
Komla Agbeli Gbedemah was a Ghanaian politician and Minister for Finance in Ghana's Nkrumah government between 1954 and 1961. Known popularly as "Afro Gbede", he was an indigene of Anyako in the Volta Region of 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). Nkrumah was the then appointed Secretaty General of the UGCC when he was arrested by the leader of the UGCC and imprisoned for an alleged thought, plans and power against Kwame Nkrumah's leadership. Kwame Nkrumah then formed the Convention People's Party with support of some UGCC members and had a purpose for self governance. Upon Kwame Nkrumah's leadership with the CPP, he orgranized a non violent protest and strike for support of the purpose for self-governance which took him to imprisonment for a second time, but he was released after winning a massive vote by the CPP following the colonies election general election whilst he was in prison. The CPP followers supported Nkrumah's ideas and voted for him massive for power of self-governance. The articles discussed about the origins of Ghana political parties, the 1948 riot and the birth of the Convention People Party among others. Issues that led to the formation of the CPP, struggles with the colonial powers led by Kwame Nkrumah and finally the attainment of Ghana's independence were part of the key concerns for this write up.
Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah was a Ghanaian politician, scholar, lawyer and statesman. He was a politician in pre- and post-colonial Ghana, which was formerly the Gold Coast, and is credited with giving Ghana its current name.
Kojo Botsio was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician. He studied in Britain, where he became the treasurer of the West African National Secretariat and an acting warden for the West African Students' Union. He served as his country's first Minister of Education and Social Welfare from 1951, as Minister for Foreign Affairs twice in the government of Kwame Nkrumah, and was a leading figure in the ruling Convention People's Party (CPP).
The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana.
The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party founded in 1947 whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leaders to include Kwame Nkrumah, who was the Secretary General. However, upon an allegation for plans against Nkrumah's leadership, he was arrested and jailed. The UGCC leadership broke up and Kwame Nkrumah went on a separate way to set up the Convention People's Party (CPP) for the purpose of self-governance. UGCC was founded in Saltpond that was the headquarters
Dr. Ebenezer Ako Adjei was a Ghanaian statesman, politician, lawyer and journalist. He was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the first political party of Ghana. As a founding father of Ghana, he was one of the leaders of the UGCC who were detained during the height of Ghana's struggle for political independence from Britain, a group famously called The Big Six.
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.
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.
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.
Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah is a Ghanaian politician and chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP). In the 2008 parliamentary election, she won the Jomoro constituency seat at her first attempt. She is the daughter of Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana.
Archibald "Archie" Casely-Hayford was a British-trained Ghanaian barrister and politician, who was involved in nationalist politics in the former Gold Coast. Having joined the Convention People's Party (CPP), in 1951 he was elected Municipal Member for Kumasi and was appointed by Kwame Nkrumah Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the government of the First Republic. When Nkrumah declared Ghana's Independence on 6 March 1957, he was photographed on the podium flanked by Casely-Hayford, together with Kojo Botsio, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Nathaniel Azarco Welbeck and Krobo Edusei.
Lawrence Rosario Abavana was a Ghanaian politician and teacher by profession. He served in various ministerial portfolios in the first republic and also served as a member of the council of state in the third republic. He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP).
The National Democratic Party (NDP) was a right-wing political party active in the Gold Coast in the early 1950s.
Edward Benjamin Kwesi Ampah Jnr also known by the name Eddie Ampah was a Ghanaian author and politician. He was the member of parliament for the Asebu constituency from 1965 to 1966.
Edmund Nee Ocansey was a Ghanaian politician. He was the member of parliament for the Osudoku constituency from 1956 to 1966.
Henry Sonnie Torgbor Provencal (1922-2007) was a Ghanaian politician. He was a member of parliament and a minister of state during the first republic. He served as the member of parliament for the Accra Central constituency from 1960 to 1965 and the member of parliament for the Gamashie constituency from 1965 to 1966. He also served as the Regional Commissioner for Greater Accra from 1965 to 1966.
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.
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