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 72 of the 104 seats.
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All 104 seats in the legislative assembly 53 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editThe 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
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convention People's Party | 391,817 | 55.44 | 72 | |
| Northern People's Party | 68,709 | 9.72 | 15 | |
| Ghana Congress Party | 32,168 | 4.55 | 1 | |
| Togoland Congress | 25,214 | 3.57 | 3 | |
| Muslim Association Party | 21,172 | 3.00 | 1 | |
| Anlo Youth Organisation | 11,259 | 1.59 | 1 | |
| Independents | 156,401 | 22.13 | 11 | |
| Total | 706,740 | 100.00 | 104 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,225,603 | – | ||
| Source: Sternberger et al.[2] | ||||
Aftermath
editIn 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
editReferences
edit- ^ The Politics of the Independence Movements Archived 2008-02-14 at the Wayback Machine Ghana.co.uk
- ^ Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p786