1956 Gold Coast general election

1956 Gold Coast general election
← 1954
July 17, 1956 (1956-07-17)
1965 →
All 104 seats in the legislative assembly
53 seats needed for a majority
Turnout697,257 (50.1% of registered voters)
  First party Second party Third party
 
NPP
NLM
Leader Kwame Nkrumah Simon Diedong Dombo J. B. Danquah
Party CPP NPP NLM
Last election 71 15 N/A
Seats won 71 15 12
Seat change Decrease1 Steady Increase12
Popular vote 391,817 68,709 145,657
Percentage 57.10% 10.39% 20.89%
A voter receives a ballot paper from a polling assistant at Kumbungu Polling Station in the Northern Territories.

General elections were held in the Gold Coast (soon to become Ghana) on 17 July 1956. The result was a victory for Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party, which won 71 of the 104 seats.[1]

A new constitution, approved on 29 April 1954, established a cabinet composed of African ministers drawn from an all-African legislature chosen by direct election. In the following general election, the Convention People's Party won the majority of seats in the new Legislative Assembly.

Background

A new constitution, approved on 29 April 1954, established a cabinet composed of African ministers drawn from an all-African legislature chosen by direct election. In the elections that followed, the Convention People's Party won the majority of seats in the new Legislative Assembly. In May 1956, Prime Minister 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.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Convention People's Party398,14157.1071–1
National Liberation Movement145,65720.8912New
Northern People's Party72,44010.39150
Togoland Congress20,3522.922–1
Muslim Association Party11,1111.5910
Federation of Youth10,7451.5410
Independents38,8115.572–9
Total697,257100.001040
Registered voters/turnout1,392,874–
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

After pro-independence parties won a convincing majority, the British government agreed to grant the colony independence. This happened on 6 March 1957, with the country renamed Ghana. Initially a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as head of State, the country's democratic credentials were hampered by the Preventive Detention Act (1958). In 1960 a referendum resulted in the country becoming a republic with a presidential form of government, and in 1964 it became a one-party state. Nkrumah was eventually overthrown in 1966.

See also

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p435 ISBN 0-19-829645-2

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