1954 Gold Coast general election

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.

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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
PartyVotes%Seats
Convention People's Party391,81755.4472
Northern People's Party68,7099.7215
Ghana Congress Party32,1684.551
Togoland Congress25,2143.573
Muslim Association Party21,1723.001
Anlo Youth Organisation11,2591.591
Independents156,40122.1311
Total706,740100.00104
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.

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
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