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 72 of the 104 seats.

1954 Gold Coast general election

← 1951 15 June 1954 1956 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly 53 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   NPP Leader Kwame Nkrumah Simon Diedong Dombo Party CPP NPP Last election 34 – Seats won 72 15 Popular vote 391,817 68,709 Percentage 55.44% 9.72%

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 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

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.

See also

• List of MLAs elected in the 1954 Gold Coast general election

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