1954 Gold Coast general election

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

Party Votes % Seats
Convention People's Party391,81755.472
Northern People's Party68,7099.715
Ghana Congress Party32,1685.01
Togoland Congress25,2143.53
Muslim Association Party21,1722.91
Anlo Youth Association11,2591.51
Independents156,40122.011
Total706,740100104
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.

gollark: No. I will NOT engage in gamblicious activity.
gollark: I see.
gollark: Yes, but obviously the osmarks.tk™ universe simulation engine™ synchronizes information via avioforms.
gollark: Information propagaating at 47342c would probably overwhelm the avian carriers.
gollark: The borrow checker would be *highly* unhappy with this.

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
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.