Unit 2
Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Introduction
Welcome to Unit 2 which covers Elections in Ghana up to the end of the First Republic.
In this Unit we discuss the three elections before independence (1951, 1954 & 1956) as well as the 1960 Plebiscite and Election, the 1964 One Party Referendum and the 1965 Election. For each of them we examine the issues involved, the contestants, the outcome and the effects. I am sure you will enjoy the Unit so just relax and read the text much more intently and go through the exercises that are incorporated in them.
Objectives
By the end of this Unit, you should be able to
explain the factors that accounted for the victory of the CPP in the 1951 Election
outline the electoral reforms introduced before the 1954 Election and its outcome
explain the reasons for the emergence of the NLM and
its impact on the 1956 Election
state the issues involved in the 1960 Plebiscite and
outline the outcome of the 1960 Presidential Election
discuss the effects of the 1964 one-party Referendum on the 1965 Election
28 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 1 The 1951 Parliamentary Election Introduction
You are welcome to Section I of Unit 1, The 1951 Parliamentary Election. This section gives a brief background of the first general election in 1951, the seats contested and the contesting parties as well as the outcome and the outline of events after the election.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
explain the background to the 1951 election
identify the contesting parties and the 38 contested seats
outline the results and explain the underlying factors
examine the effects of the election on the politics of the
country Background
The Election of February 1951 is often regarded as the first general election in Ghana (formerly Gold Coast). This is because it was the first time that about half of the members of the Legislative Assembly (which at independence will become the National Assembly or Parliament) were elected. Before then most members of the Legislative Council were appointed by the Colonial Governor. It was only from 1925 that members from the municipal towns of Accra, Cape Coast and Sekondi-Takoradi and later Kumasi were elected.
A new constitution drawn up in 1950 provided that the Legislative Assembly be consisted of a Speaker and 84 members. Of the 84, nine were to be appointed by the Governor (six as officials and three representing special interests like mining and commerce). The remaining 75 were to be Gold Coasters of whom 38 were to be elected and the other 37 chosen by the territorial councils of chiefs.
The 38 Contested Seats
The thirty eight contested seats were spread across three territories. There were 19 seats in the Colony (including four municipal seats – two in Accra, one each in Cape Coast &
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 29 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Sekondi-Takoradi and 15 rural seats. Ashanti had 13 (the Kumasi Municipal seat and 12 rural ones). The remaining six were in Trans-Volta, all rural constituencies. None of the elected seats were in the Northern Territories (NTs) where all the 19 members were chosen through the Northern Territorial Council of Chiefs. The remaining 18 were also chosen through the Joint Provincial Council (JPC), the Asanteman Council (AVC) and the Volta Territorial Council.
The details of the 38 contested seats were as shown in the table below:
Territory Status of No. of Constituencies Seat Seats Colony Municipal 4 1st Accra, 2nd Accra, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi Rural 15 Ahanta, 1st Akim Abuakwa, 2nd Akim Abuakwa, Akwapim- New Juaben, Ankobra, Assin-Upper Denkyira, Cape Coast, Ga-Adangbe, Kwahu, Saltpond, Sefwi, Tarkwa, Volta, Western Akim, Winneba, Ashanti Municipal 1 Kumasi Rural 12 Agona, Amansie, Kumasi East, Kumasi North, Kumasi North- West, Kumasi South, Kumasi West, Mampong North, Mampong South, Sunyani North-East, Sunyani South West & Wenchi Trans-Volta Municipal 0 - Rural 6 Akipini-Asogli, 1st Anlo, 2nd Anlo, Buem, Peki and Tongu
The Contesting Parties
Two main political parties contested the election. These were the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP). Let us now learn a few things about the two parties.
The UGCC was the first political party to be formed in the Gold Coast in August 1947. Its leaders included mostly the well-to-do in society: Paa George Grant, a timber merchant, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Edward Akufo-Addo, R. S. Blay, Ebenezer Ako Adjei, E. Obtsebi Lamptey (all lawyers) and William Ofori-Atta, a graduate teacher.
The UGCC was the first to demand self-government for the Gold Coasters but it wanted it to be granted by all constitutional means and within the shortest possible time. On the advice of Ako Adjei, the UGCC leaders invited Kwame Nkrumah from Britain to become the party’s full time General Secretary in December 1947.
Following the 1948 riots six of the UGCC leaders were arrested and detained in the Northern Territories. They were J. B. Danquah, E. Akufo-Addo, William Ofori Atta, Kwame Nkrumah, Ako Adjei and E. O. Lamptey. This turned them into national heroes who became
30 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic known as the ‘Big Six’. The party also became a national party. By August 1948 the UGCC had 209 branches compared to 13 in February the same year (Saffu 2008: 44).
The UGCC also benefitted from the organizational abilities of Nkrumah but conflict soon developed between him and the other leaders of the party. It was this conflict which eventually led to the formation of the CPP.
In June 1949, Nkrumah and leading members of Committee for Youth Organization, (CYO) (the youth wing of the UGCC) like Komla A. Gbedemah and Kojo Botsio broke away to form the CPP. Thus, the CPP was a splinter of the UGCC. It was these two parties which became the major contestants in 1951.
The CPP demanded immediate self-government which it captured in its slogan ‘Self-Government Now’. The CPP leadership, particularly in 1950, undertook a series of confrontational actions against the colonial authorities. They called this ‘Positive Action’ which resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of several of its leaders, including Nkrumah who was still in prison during the election. Nkrumah was, however, allowed to contest one of the two seats in Accra.
In addition to the UGCC and CPP, another party which contested the 1951 election was the National Democratic Party (NDP) formed in Accra with Nii Amma Ollenu (a future Speaker of Parliament) as one of its founders. The NDP contested the two-member Accra seat against the CPP and the UGCC. A number of other smaller groups emerged but faded away before the election. These included the Ghana Freedom Party, a Kumasi-based People’s Democratic Party, the Gold Coast Labour Party, National Labour Party and Liberal Party (Austin 1964: 138-139). There were a number of independent candidates as well.
The Outcome
The most outstanding feature of the outcome of the 1951 Election was the overwhelming victory of the CPP. It won 34 of the 38 seats (all the 13 seats in Ashanti, 17 out of 19 from the Colony and four out of six from Trans-Volta); losing two seats to the UGCC and two others to independents.
Though Nkrumah was still in prison he won one of two Accra seats. Six candidates contested in Accra and the results were: Nkrumah (CPP) 20,780 votes; Thomas Hutton-Mills (CPP) 19,812 votes; E. Obetsebi Lamptey (UGCC) 1, 630 votes; E. Ako Adjei (UGCC) 1,451 votes; Nii Amma Ollenu (NDP) 742 votes; and K. A.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 31 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Bossman (NDP) 666 votes. The other Accra seat went to the other CPP candidate, Hutton-Mills (Austin 1964: 102).
The two seats the UGCC won were the First and Second Akim Abuakwa Rural which were won by J. B. Danquah and William Ofori Atta respectively. The two independent winners were both from Trans-Volta: Gerald O. Awuma (Akpini-Asogli) and P. D. K. Adjani (Tongu).
Accounting for CPP’s Victory
There were several factors that accounted for the massive victory of the CPP which was formed less than two years before the election against the UGCC which was older. Let us examine the major ones.
The CPP’s slogan of ‘Self Government Now’ (SGN) was more attractive to the Gold Coasters, particularly the youth than the UGCC’s ‘Self-Government-Step-by- Step’. In addition to immediate self-government, the party manifesto also promised free education and medical care, introduction of industries, extension of the railway system, electrification and mechanized agriculture, all of which appealed to the ordinary people (Fordwuor 2010:54)
The reduction of the voting age from 25 years to 21 years gave the vote to many young men and women for the first time. Most of them voted for the CPP partly because it was one of its candidates, Kwesi Plange, who as a member of the Legislative Council, argued forcefully for the reduction and partly because many the party’s candidates were from the working class (Austin 1964, Fordwuor 2010).
There was also Nkrumah’s charismatic leadership. More than any of the leaders of the UGCC, Nkrumah was better at public speaking and pulling crowds to the party rallies.
The organizational abilities of the other leaders of the CPP like K. A. Gbedemah, Kojo Botsio and Kwesi Lamptey who took control of the party in the crucial period before the election when Nkrumah was in prison contributed a lot to the party’s success.
The CPP took advantage of the arrest and imprisonment of several of its leaders in 1950. On the days that such leaders were released from prison, the party organized processions to meet them at the prison gates and crowned them as ‘Prison Graduates’ (PGs). In particular, it made electoral capital of
32 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Nkrumah’s imprisonment. They argued that Nkrumah was suffering because he was fighting for their freedom.
The CPP was also successful in a number of municipal council elections in Accra, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi and Kumasi. This helped the CPP in two ways: some of the techniques it used during the municipal elections were adopted and improved upon for the general election; and its victories gave the party leaders confidence that they could win while several of the voters wanted to identify themselves with the winning team - they wanted to join the winning bandwagon.
The CPP also benefitted from the fact that the spread of the party to parts of the country coincided with the preparation for the elections and several voters came to identify the party with the elections.
Post-Election Politics
Many interesting things followed the election. The 1950 Constitution provided that Governor after the election appointed eight of the Gold Coasters as ministers to work with him and three European officials on the Executive Council (which will later become the Cabinet). Because of the massive win of the CPP, the Colonial Governor released Nkrumah from prison and appointed him Leader of Government Business (LGB). Nkrumah was also allowed to appoint the seven other ministers.
Nkrumah appointed four other ministers who won the election in the ticket of the CPP. These were K. A. Gbedemah, Kojo Botsio, T. Hutton Mills and Casely-Hayford. He also appointed three others who were territorial members, one each from the Colony, Ashanti and the Northern Territories, for the sake of national unity. These were K. Ansah Koi, E. O. Asafu-Adjaye and J. A. Braimah respectively. Eleven other members of the Legislative Assembly were appointed Ministerial Secretaries (deputy ministers) to assist the ministers. These became the first ministers of the country. Thus, as a result of the election, Nkrumah and the CPP came to power which they would retain for the next fifteen years.
In 1952, Nkrumah was made Prime Minister, a position which in Britain is given to the leader of the largest party in Parliament.
For the UGCC, its humiliating defeat gave it a blow from which it would never fully recover. In 1952, some leaders of the UGCC would team up with leaders of the NDP and others to form a new party, the Ghana Congress Party (GCP). It would be one of the parties that would contest against the CPP in the next election.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 33 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Nkrumah and his CPP government worked considerably well over the next three years. It is interesting to note that Adu Boahen has said that if other governments in Ghana had worked as well as Nkrumah and his government did in the 1951-54 period Ghana could have become a first world country long ago. At the same time, there were some negative signs of hero-worshipping of Nkrumah and corruption in government (Boahen 1975).
Partly because of the hard work of the CPP government, it was allowed to draw a new constitution, the 1954 Constitution which was also called the Nkrumah Constitution. It was that constitution which led to the 1954 election which we will study in Section 2.
Activity 1.1 1. Account for the massive victory of the CPP in 1951.
2. What effect did the 1951 election have on the UGCC?
Summary
Thank you very much for the enthusiasm with which you have gone through this section. I am very sure that you have had a good time trying to understand various aspects of the first general election in Ghana’s history. You have learnt that the 1951 election became necessary because the 1950 Constitution provided 38 elected members in the Legislative Assembly. You have also known that the two major parties which contested were the UGCC and the CPP and while the CPP won 34 seats, the UGCC could win only two. I have also explained the major factors that accounted for the victory of the CPP and the effects the results had on both parties.
34 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 2 The 1954 Parliamentary Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 2 of Unit 1, the 1954 Parliamentary Election. In Section 1, I indicated that another parliamentary election was held in 1954. I will in this section discuss the factors which led to the new election and the electoral reforms that took place. I will also examine the parties that contested and outcome as well as its effects on politics in the country. Please enjoy the discussions that follow.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
give the reasons for the 1954 election and outline the electoral reforms introduced
show the nature of the parties that emerged to compete with the CPP
explain the special challenge that the CPP faced as the party in power and the emergence of a large number of
independent candidates
outline the results and explain the factors that accounted for the outcome
examine the effects of the 1954 election on the politics of the country, particularly the emergence of the NLM
Background
The 1954 Constitution made two important provisions: the first was that all members of the Legislative Assembly to be directly elected and second, that all members of the Executive Council were to be Gold Coast ministers to take charge of all the ministries except Defence and External Affairs. Thus, we say that the 1954 Constitution granted internal self-government to the country.
In 1953, a commission was set up to demarcate (divide) the whole country into constituencies for the next election. The commission which was chaired by Justice Van Lare divided the country into 104 constituencies as follows: the Colony had 44, Northern Territories 26, Ashanti 21 and Trans-Volta 13. It was these constituencies
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 35 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic which were contested for in the 1954 Election to elect members of the new Legislative Assembly.
Contesting Parties
Seven other political parties emerged to challenge the CPP in the 1954 Election. Let us briefly learn a few things about these parties.
The Ghana Congress Party (GCP), as we learned in the previous section, was formed in 1952. It was formed by the coming together of various groups. The included some leaders of the UGCC leaders among them, J. B. Danquah, E. Akufo- Addo, W. Ofori Atta; N. A. Ollenu from the NDP; former CPP members who had fallen out with the party like Kwesi Lamptey, Denkle Dzenkle and Henry Nyametei; as well as others not previously associated with any of those groups such as K. A. Busia and M. Dowuona (Fordwor 2010: 60). While these groups were brought together by their common opposition to Nkrumah and the CPP, it was always going to be difficult to organize this varied group. The GCP is therefore most remembered for its internal disagreements and ineffectiveness. The party could contest only 22 of the 104 seats (13 in the Colony, 9 in Ashanti) (Austin 1964:236).
The Northern People’s Party (NPP) was formed in April 1954, just two months before the June 1954 elections, in the Northern Territories largely to protect the interests of the people of the North. Among its leaders were S. D. Dombo, J. A. Braimah, Yakubu Tali, and Mumuni Bawumia. It contested 18 of the 26 seats in the North (Austin 1964:236).
In Trans-Volta emerged two parties the Anlo Youth Organization (AYO) which aimed at uniting all Ewes in the Colony, Trans-Volta and French Togoland; and the Togoland Congress (TC) which demanded the re-unification of British and French Togos. In 1954, the TC contested six seats and the AYO only two, all in Trans-Volta (Austin 1964:236).
There was also the Moslem Association Party (MAP) which was meant to protect Moslem interests particularly in the urban centres of Accra and Kumasi but with support among the Moslems in the North. Significantly, the MAP contested 15 seats but spread across all the four territories (Colony 5, Ashanti 4, NTs 5, and Trans-Volta 1) (Austin 1964:236).
In addition were the Ghana Action Party (GAP) and Ghana National Party (GNP) which were effectively ‘one-man’ parties which could only contest a single seat each in the Colony (Austin 1964:236).
36 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic It is clear from the above that the opposing parties were not national in scope but rather ethnic/regional/religious-based.
The ruling CPP however was confronted with another problem other than the presence of a large number of opposing parties. More than a thousand aspirants emerged to contest the 104 seats on the ticket of the CPP. The party headquarters therefore was forced to name the party list of 104 candidates (Austin 1964: 236). Some disgruntled elements stood as independents while others were expelled from the party. This temporarily resolved the issue for the party but would come back to haunt the party after the election.
A most interesting aspect of the 1954 contest was the large number of independent candidates. Of the 323 contestants, almost half were independents. It was therefore not surprising that Denis Austin described the 1954 election as “the Independents’ election” (Austin 1964: 240).
There were three categories of independents.
Fifty-one of them were the true independents who were not attached to any of the contesting parties (Colony 16, Ashanti 6, NTs 26 and Trans-Volta 3).
Over 100 of the independents were CPP aspirants, across the four territories, who had rebelled (Colony 59, Ashanti 32, NTs 5, and Trans-Volta 7).
In addition were six others who were pro-party independents who publicly supported one party or the other but contested the 1954 election as independents for strategic reasons (three were pro-NPP, two pro-CPP and one pro-TC) (Austin 1964: 236).
The Outcome
The 1954 election produced an interesting outcome. Overall, the CPP won 71 seats, NPP - 12, TC - 2, GCP- 1, MAP-1, AYO -1 and 16 independent winners. Let us further examine this outcome:
The CPP was the only party that could win seats in all the four territories (Colony 38, Ashanti 16, NTs 8 and Trans-Volta 9).
The NPP won all its 12 seats in the Northern Territories.
The two seats that TC won were Ho West and Kpandu North held by Kodzo Ayeke and S. G. Antor respectively.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 37 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic The sole GCP seat was Wenchi West which Busia won by just eleven votes. The two UGCC incumbents J. B. Danquah (Akim Abuakwa Central) and W. Ofori Atta (Akim Abuakwa West), who contested on GCP tickets lost their seats to CPP debutants.
The only MAP seat was Gulkpego-Nanton (which included Tamale) and was won by Alhaji Osmanu, largely because of lack of unity within the CPP in the constituency.
The sole AYO winner was M. K. A. Apaloo (Anlo South).
The 16 independent winners were spread across the four territories (Colony 6, Ashanti 2, NTs 6, and Trans-Volta 2). Five of them were pro-party independents who quickly join their respective parties after the election: Imoru Egala (Tumu, pro CPP), J. A. Braimah (Gonja East, pro-NPP), Yakubu Tali (Dagboma South, pro NPP), C. K. Tedam (Kassena-Nankanni North, pro-NPP). (The 16 remain the highest number of independent winners throughout the country’s electoral history).
The 1954 election also made another history. For the first time a woman was elected to the Legislative Assembly. She was Mabel Dove, who won the Ga Constituency on CPP ticket.
Accounting for CPP’s Re-Election
Let us briefly examine some of the factors that contributed to CPP’s re-election and the defeat of its challengers:
The CPP reaped from its good performance in its first term in office. The massive socio- economic developments endeared it to Ghanaians.
As the party in power the CPP enjoyed some advantages of incumbency. Personnel and vehicles of state institutions like the Cocoa Purchasing Company (CPC) were used to support government party candidates. The CPC also used its loans programme in support of the CPP against the opposition.
The CPP was the only party with support across the four territories.
The GCP was disunited and was very ineffective in its activities. The fact that it could contest only a third of the seats in Ashanti and the Colony was not good enough, but winning just a single seat was worse.
38 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic The other opposition parties were restricted to specific territories: NPP to the NTs, TC and AYO to Trans-Volta; while MAP was restricted in religious terms.
Two of the parties GNP and GAP were effectively one-man parties which only contested a single seat each.
Post-Election Politics
With its victory, the CPP was retained in power with Nkrumah as Prime Minister and the Executive Council was renamed the Cabinet in charge of all ministries except Defence and External Affairs. Nkrumah appointed 11 cabinet ministers and 12 ministerial secretaries.
Among the cabinet ministers retained from the previous government were Gbedemah, Botsio, Asafu-Adjaye and Casely-Hayford, all of whom were given new portfolios.
Three former ministerial secretaries, J. H. Allasani, J. E. Jantuah and A. E. Inkumsah, were promoted Cabinet Ministers.
Among the newly-appointed cabinet ministers were A. E. A. Ofori Atta (who defeated veteran J. B. Danquah in Akim Abuakwa Central), E. Ako Adjei, (the 1951 UGCC losing candidate who in 1954 won Accra East on CPP ticket) and Imoru Egala, the pro-CPP independent from Tumu.
Only two of the 12 ministerial secretaries previously held positions in the previous government: E. Y. Asare and J. B. Erzuah.
The NPP with its 12 members together with the three pro-NPP independents and the sole MAP member became the official opposition with S. D. Dombo as its Leader. This was a big achievement for a party which was formed just two months before the elections.
However, the post- election activity which would have the greatest influence on the country’s electoral political right up to independence was the formation of a new political party called the National Liberation Movement (NLM) in Kumasi in September 1954, just three months after the election.
While it may appear surprising that any group would wait after the election to form a political party, it is important to note that most the four major factors that led to the formation of the NLM were related to the 1954 election.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 39 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Let us examine the factors that caused the formation of the NLM:
The first factor was that the people of Ashanti were not happy with the demarcation of constituencies by the Van Lare Commission. They did not understand why the number of seats for the Colony increased from 29 in1951 to 44 in 1954, the NTs from 19 to 26 and Trans-Volta from 8 to 13 but that of Ashanti from 19 to only 21. During the Legislative Assembly debate on the matter, representatives from Ashanti (both CPP and opposition) united to demand at least 30 seats but they did not succeed.
Second, most of the young men who were expelled from the CPP in relation to the 1954 nominations were Ashantis, members of the Ashanti Youth Association (AYA) and it was these young men who became the brain behind the formation of the new party based in Ashanti.
Third, the Ashanti chiefs in particular were not comfortable with the local government reforms the CPP introduced in 1952. The new local government system allowed for only one third representation of chiefs and two thirds of directly elected representatives. To the chiefs the so-called democratic reform of the local councils was a deliberate attempt by Nkrumah and the CPP to take away their powers, prestige and financial resources. In short, the Ashanti chiefs saw their position threatened under the CPP.
The fourth and the immediate cause for the formation of the NLM was the failure of the CPP government to fulfill its election promise of increasing the price of a bag of cocoa from 60 shillings to 72 shillings. In August 1954, Finance Minister Gbedemah introduced a bill which pegged the price of cocoa at the same 60 shillings for the next four years. The government argued that it was aimed at generating funds for national development. But the Ashanti cocoa farmers several of whom were also chiefs did on find this acceptable.
Putting these grievances together, the Ashantis decided to form their own party in September 1954 to protect their interests. The party founder, Baffour Osei Akoto, was not only a chief but the chief linguist of the Asantehene. In October the Asantehene pledged his support for the new party.
It was largely because of the formation of the NLM and its demands that would lead to holding of another election in 1956, just two years after the one which had elected the new Legislative Assembly for four years.
40 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic We shall discuss the demands of the NLM and the 1956 election in the next section.
Activity 2.1 1. Examine the significance of independents in the 1954 election?
2. What were the weaknesses of the parties opposed to the CPP in the 1954 election?
Summary
I am happy that you have gone through this section successfully. Well done. I am convinced that you have taken note of the many interesting aspects of the 1954 election. You have noticed that for the first time all the members of the Legislative Assembly were directly elected. There were seven parties that challenged the CPP and there were almost as many independent candidates as party candidates. You have also learnt that only the CPP could win seats nationwide and the NPP became the second largest party in the Assembly. You have also learnt the interesting issue of a new political party formed three months after the election.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 41 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 3 The 1956 Parliamentary Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 3 of Unit 2. In this Unit, we shall discuss the 1956 election, the last election before independence. In Section 2 you learnt about the formation of the NLM and indicated that its demands would lead to the 1956 election. The NLM formed an alliance with the other opposition parties hoping to wrestle power from the CPP. However, the CPP still did as well as it did in 1954. After the election, preparations were made towards independence. All the interesting aspects of the election have been carefully explained in this section. I entreat you to take your time and with diligence, go through this section thoroughly.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
explain the major constitutional demand which the NLM made that would lead to the 1956 elections
account for the weaknesses of the opposition alliance
give reasons for the CPP’s third consecutive victory
outline the processes that led to independence after the election
indicate the measures the CPP adopted to weaken the opposition after independence
Background
With the CPP’s clear victory in 1954, the general impression was that the country would soon be granted independence but the emergence of the NLM changed that expectation.
The NLM made a fundamental constitutional demand for a federal system of government for independent Ghana. Until then it had been taken for granted that given Ghana’s geographical size and its diverse population it would remain a unitary state. In its demand, the NLM had sought and won the support of the other regional/ethnic/religious-based parties and the support of Akim Abuakwa in the Colony.
42 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic The 1954-56 period witnessed an intense level of violence in politics in the country. The CPP and NLM entered into violent clashes which started with the cold-blooded murder of E. Y Baffoe, the chief propaganda secretary of the NLM by Twumasi Ankrah, the Ashanti regional CPP propaganda secretary. Over two years no CPP minister could enter Kumasi and several CPP members fled Kumasi for Accra.
In order to ensure that there was another election before independence, the NLM and its allies boycotted all the attempts by the CPP government or the colonial administration to resolve the matter. For example, the NLM turned down two invitations by the CPP government in 1954 and 1955 simply because the conference had a CPP majority representation. The NLM also boycotted the Frederick Bourne Commission set up by the British government to resolve the issue of federalism.
In July 1955, a pro-NLM independent, B. F. Kusi defeated his CPP challenger in a by-election in Atwima Nwabiagya in Ashanti. This clearly exaggerated the NLM’s hope of winning the next election
It was under these circumstances that the colonial administration called for the elections of July 1956. In a sense, the election was a referendum to determine whether independent Ghana would be unitary or federal.
The Contesting Parties
Seven political parties contested the 1956 election. The CPP as usual contested all the 104 seats. The NPP contested 23 of the 26 in the North and TC, three in Trans-Volta. The Federated Youth Organization (FYO, former. AYO) contested six, all in Trans-Volta, while MAP this time had only three candidates with two others for the Wassaw Youth Association (WYA). The NLM contested 39 (all the 21 in Ashanti and 18 in the Colony). This time the number of independent contestants had reduced from nearly 160 to 45.
The NLM together with it all its allies contested 76 seats but the opposition alliance hoped to gain power with the pledged support of 17 independents. The NLM’s chances also appeared boosted by revelations of corruption in the CPP government.
The Outcome
As it turned out, the outcome of the 1956 election proved on the whole not to be very different from that of 1954:
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 43 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic The CPP won 71 seats from across the four territories: all the 44 in the Colony, 8 of the 21 in Ashanti, 9 of the 26 in the North and 8 of the 13 in Trans-Volta.
The NPP won 15 of the 26 in the NTs.
The NLM won 12 of the 21 seats in Ashanti and none at all of the 18 it contested in the Colony.
MAP won a single seat in Ashanti; interestingly the Kumasi North seat which was won by Cobbina Kessie who had been previously contested on UGCC and GCP tickets
The TC won two seats and the FYO one all in Trans-Volta.
Two independents won: pro-TC incumbent F. R. Ametowobla retained his Ho East seat, while CPP protester B. A. Konu, caused an upset defeating CPP incumbent W. M. N. Djetror. Konu quickly joined the CPP in Parliament.
In sum, the CPP had 72 seats and the opposition alliance 32.
Accounting for the Outcome
Let us look at the main factors which led to CPP’s victory:
The CPP went into the election still from a position of strength contesting all the 104 seats against a total of 76 by the opposition alliance.
The CPP still carried the advantages of a party in power.
The revelations about corruption in the CPP government did not sufficiently undermine the party’s support in the Colony in particularly.
The fact that NLM lost nine seats in Ashanti meant that it was not completely accepted even in its own home region. Four of the eight seats it lost to CPP were in Western Ashanti where the Brongs were kicking against the domination of the Ashantis. The other four were in areas with components of non-Akan settlers like in the mining constituencies of Obuuasi and Asante Akim or where some Ashanti chiefs had publicly opposed the NLM (Sekyere East & Adansi-Banka)
Also the fact that the NLM could not win any of the 18 seats in the colony meant that while there were cocoa farmers who wanted more money , chiefs who were not happy with CPP’s
44 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic local government reforms as well as several CPP rebels from 1954, they were not comfortable with the NLM which was Kumasi-based and fought for Ashanti interests.
The other regionalist parties NPP, TC and AYO could still not take full control of their respective regions.
The independent candidates did not perform as well as in 1954. Indeed 12 of the 17 independents who had pledged their support to the opposition alliance performed so poorly that the forfeited/lost their nomination fees.
Post-Election Politics
Following the CPP’s victory in the 1956 election and the Togoland plebiscite which confirmed that Trans-Volta Togoland would be part of independent Ghana, steps were taken from August 1956 towards independence in March 1956.
The colonial administration however was careful to offer an independent constitution which was a compromise between a unitary and federal system. While it gave national powers to the central government, it also provided for regional assemblies and regional houses of chiefs which were to act as a check. Unfortunately neither the CPP government nor the opposition alliance was prepared to work with this compromise formula.
At independence, there were pockets of resistance in Ashanti, Trans-Volta and Accra where the Ga Standfast Association were not happy with the takeover of Ga lands
The CPP government took some measures to contain some of these threats and to weaken the opposition. Two major ones were the passage of the Avoidance of Discrimination Act (ADA) of 1957 and the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) of 1958:
The ADA was aimed at banning all the political parties which were regional, ethnic or religious-based. The opposition parties responded by merging to form the United Party (UP).
The PDA empowered the CPP government to arrest and detain up to five years people whose activities were perceived to be a threat to the security of the state. Several opposition MPs and activists were arrested under the PDA, while others were forced into exile.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 45 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Activity 3.1 1. What constitutional demand did the NLM make and how did it affect the independence Constitution?
2. What measures did the CPP government and colonial administration take do deal with the constitutional matter?
Summary
Congratulations for completing Section 3 of Unit 2. You now know how the NLM’s demand for a federal system of government led to another election and influenced the independence constitution. You have also learnt how after independence, the CPP government tried to weaken the opposition. I am happy that you have distinguished yourself creditably in this section. I invite you to consider the next section, on how the CPP government assumed more powers through a new constitution and a new election, which promises to very interesting.
46 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 4 The 1960 Referendum and Presidential Election Introduction
Welcome to Section 4 of Unit 2. In this section we shall learn about a referendum and an election which was held at the same time in April 1960. The purpose of the referendum was to approve a new constitution for Ghana and the election was to choose the first president under the new constitution. Do not be confused, it was all part of the measures to give more powers to Nkrumah and the CPP government. Take your time and go through the section and you will enjoy it.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
state the official reason for the introduction of a new constitution
outline the steps taken in the drafting of the constitution
identify the issues in the election and the candidates in the election
explain the results of both the elections
outline the effects of the plebiscite and the presidential election
Background
By 1960, of the 32 opposition members at independence three were being held in detention, one was in exile and 12 had crossed carpet to the government side reducing the opposition to half its original strength. Several others were to go the same way after 1960; some to prison, some in exile and others to the government party (Austin 1964:386).
Having succeeded in weakening the opposition, Nkrumah put into effect his plan to bring the country completely under his authority and control. The first stage was to bring to an end to the constitutional system under which the offices of Head of State and Head of Government were separated. This was to be achieved by
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 47 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic transforming Ghana into a republic with a President who was both Head of State and Head of government (Fordwor 2010: 89-90).
It was in this context of the relative strength of the CPP and relative weakness of the opposition that the government announced that it intended to seek approval of a draft republican constitution and to hold election for the office of president (Austin 1964:386).
In a radio broadcast to the nation Nkrumah announced the intention of the Government to seek the approval of the people for a change in the Constitution in order to make Ghana a Republic within the Commonwealth (Fordwor 2010: 90).
He explained the new arrangement as follows: “It is proposed that there should be a President responsible to the people and elected by them, who should be the Head of State as well as Head of Government.” He explained that the ‘proposed constitution is based on the rule of law and leaves no scope for arbitrary action or for discrimination against any individual or community’ (Fordwor 2010: 90).
This explanation was in response to the proposal by the UP that it would be more appropriate to adopt a system under which the position of Head of State was held on a rotational basis by the senior traditional rulers of the various ethnic communities of the country (Fordwor 2010: 90).
Nkrumah however was against any system which was contrary to his plan to concentrate all state power in himself and his party. The CPP also rejected the UP suggestion that the new constitution should include a Bill of Rights that would guarantee basic human rights and freedoms of the people (Fordwor 2010: 90).
A draft constitution along the lines proposed by Nkrumah was duly prepared and after Parliament, sitting as a constituent assembly quickly endorsed it was submitted for the approval in a referendum. In the statement introducing the draft, the Government also stated ‘ the object of the draft constitution was to provide firm, stable and popular government in Ghana so that Ghana could assist in achieving union of African States and Territories.’(Fordwor 2010: 90).
Issues in the Referendum and the Presidential Election
The UP hesitated but decided to challenge the CPP and turned to Nkrumah’s early opponent – Danquah while as expected the CPP nominated Nkrumah. While Nkrumah had been in office since
48 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic 1951; Danquah has been in opposition all his life (Austin 1964:386).
The referendum to approve the draft constitution was scheduled for April 1960. At the same time the people were asked to elect the person to hold the office of First president. The UP announced its opposition to the draft constitution and campaigned against its adoption. The UP executive issued a number of pamphlets opposing the draft constitution on grounds that it ‘will bring to an end the responsibility of Parliament to the people, that Article 2 of the Draft betrays the hard won sovereignty of Ghana, that the President’s absolute power without check to grant loans, to appoint judges, to control the Civil Service and the Armed Forces would lead to dictatorship.’ (Fordwor 2010: 90).
The CPP and the government did everything possible to ensure that the approval of the constitution was a foregone conclusion. All obstacles were put in the way of the campaign of the UP both against the proposed constitution and in support of Danquah’s candidacy in the presidential election (Fordwor 2010: 91).
The CPP had its way with the constitution, transforming the 1951- 57 structure of government into a presidential system which placed very wide powers in Nkrumah’s hands (Austin 1964: 386).
The plebiscite/election was held on three days – 19th, 23rd and 27th April. The results were announced at the end of each day’s poll. Voters voted twice, first for or against the the draft constitutional proposal and second for Nkrumah or Danquah for president (Austin 1964: 387).
The chief interest in the plebiscite lay less in the outcome than the means adopted to secure a result favourable to the CPP’s view of the position it held of the country (Austin 1964: 387).
The full weight of the government was brought to bear on the voters and when the size of the ‘yes’ vote for Nkrumah and the proposed republican constitution was thought insufficient, the party officials tampered with the actual conduct of polling on the two subsequent days (Austin 1964: 387).
The opposition called upon the electorate to reject the constitution, while sponsoring Danquah as an alternative presidential candidate. Though this appeared contradictory the vote for Danquah was roughly the same as that against the constitution (Austin 1964: 387).
The decision of the opposition to take part helped the CPP to muster/get together its supporters. The CPP’s appeal to the voters
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 49 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic had very little to do with the constitutional proposal but more on the determination of the party to mount a programme of national welfare within which every section of the community would find its reward (Austin 1964: 387).
The Outcome
The first day of polling was held in the three Accra constituencies where 45% of the voters voted. 16,739 voted for the constitution and 9207 against; 16804 voted for Nkrumah and 9035 for Danquah. Thus, Danquah got 35% and Nkrumah 65% (Austin 1964: 391). This clearly was a fair reflection of the situation.
In the two subsequent days of voting, Ashanti and Volta on 23rd April and the rest (Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Northern Western) on 27th showed a different pattern. The voter turnout and the vote for Nkrumah and the constitution swung up to 80% in a number of constituencies and over 90% in three, while that for the UP and against the constitution to negligible figures(Austin 1964: 392).
In the opposition stronghold of Atwima Nwabiagya for example, out of 25, 461 voters the voter turnout was 89.5%; 22,738 (99.3%) voted for the constitution and only 155 (0.7%) against; and 22676 (99.4%) for Nkrumah and only 137 (0.6%) for Danquah (Austin 1964: 392).
The overall results on the surface showed an overwhelming number of 102 of the 104constituencies for Nkrumah and the constitution. The only two exceptions were:
Anlo South where 3450 (49.1%) voted for the constitution and 3577 (50.9%) against; and 3470 (49.4%) for Nkrumah and 3563 (50.6%) for Danquah. It was the only constituency which voted against the constitution and for Danquah.
Ho West where 5816 (50.9%) voted for the constitution and 5600 (49.1%) against; and 5673 (49.5%) for Nkrumah 5794 (50.5%) for Danquah (Austin 1964: 394). It voted for the constitution but against Nkrumah
In terms of the popular vote nationwide the constitution was approved by 1,008,740 (88.5%) to 131,425 (11.5%) and in the presidential election 1,016,067 (89.1%) for Nkrumah and 124,623 (10.9%) for Danquah (Fordwor 2010: 91).
50 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Post-Election/Plebiscite Politics
Based on the results of the referendum, Nkrumah placed before the National Assembly a bill for the legislation necessary to transform Ghana into a republic. The new constitution came into force on 1st July 1960 (Fordwor 2010: 91).
Perhaps as a reward for supporting the new constitution members of the National Assembly were allowed to continue as the first Parliament of the Republic for a five year term. Parliament also passed a law which allowed special representation of 10 women, increasing its membership to 114. These women were: Comfort Asamoah, Lucy Anim, Victoria Nyame, Grace Ayensu, Mary Winifred Koranteng, Sophia Doku, Susanna Al-Hassan, Regina Asamany and Christiana Wilmot.
When Nkrumah assumed the presidency on 1st July 1960, the CPP regime was triumphant while the opposition was reduced to a token force.
J. R. Asiedu, the MP for Akwapim North and former Deputy Speaker was elected the first Speaker of the First Republic.
The CPP dominated the unicameral National Assembly and Nkrumah was President with great executive authority. The fact still remained that some form of opposition, however small, existed (Austin 1964: 395).
Activity 4.1 1. Examine the case for and against the introduction of the 1960 Republican Constitution.
2. Outline the issues and results of the1960 referendum and presidential election.
Summary
Congratulate yourself for going through this short but somewhat controversial section. You have learnt about how and why the CPP government changed the independence constitution and replaced it with the republic constitution. You noticed how the referendum to approve the new constitution and the election to choose the first president were held on the same day and how similar both results were.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 51 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 5 The 1964 Referendum Introduction
You are welcome to Section 5 of Unit 2. Be happy that after this you will have just one section to complete this Unit. You will learn about a referendum which was to decide two issues both of which sought to make the President stronger still. One was to give him power to appoint and dismiss judges at any time he wanted and the other was to turn Ghana into one-party state. The results were quite funny. Relax and go through this very short section.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
identify the two issues in the referendum
outline the outcome of the referendum
explain why the outcome was funny
state the effects of the referendum
Background
At the end of 1963 Nkrumah announced his intention of seeking approval through a referendum to be held from 24-31 January on two amendments to the constitution:
To ‘invest the President with power in his discretion to dismiss a judge of the High Court at any time for reasons which appear to him sufficient’.
To ‘provide that … there will be one national party in Ghana [and] that the one national party shall be the Convention People’s Party’ (Austin 1964: 413).
Rationale for the Referendum
The reason for the first issue can be traced to the Kulungugu treason trial. Nkrumah was not happy with the verdict by the three judges who tried the case and acquitted three of the accused. He immediately sacked the Chief Justice Korsah for which he had power to. But he could not sack the other two judges Van Lare and Edward Akufo-Addo. The amendment therefore was to give him power to sack the two judges and other judges any time he thought fit in future.
52 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic The reason for the second issue was that even though the opposition in Parliament had been reduced to only eight, the CPP was still not comfortable with their presence in Parliament and the activities of the opposition outside Parliament. The adoption of the second issue was to render any party opposed to the ruling CPP illegal. Indeed it was to make Ghana move from a defacto one party system in which the opposition had been weakened to a de jure one party system where only one party must exist by law.
The Outcome
When the referendum was held at the end of January 1964, it resulted in an impressive demonstration of government power. With 2,877,456 registered voters, the turnout of 2,776,372 represented 92.8%. Of this the ‘Yes’ vote: 2,773,920 (99.9%) and ‘No’ vote: 2,452 (0.1%) (Austin 1964: 414).
Results of this kind were ridiculous and unreasonable. Widespread malpractices were reported and the referendum was more an administrative exercise by the party rather than a test of public opinion. The commonest device used by the party officers was that of sealing or removing the ‘No’ box (Austin 1964: 414).
Busia, when he challenged the results, highlighted that certain ballot papers ‘were marked and thrown into the voting boxes for people who never voted; and the ‘No’ boxes were sealed so that the ballot papers could be placed in them’. He also pointed that the declared figures were much larger than the numbers that actually voted (Fordwor 2010: 98).
The regional distribution of the referendum vote was as shown in the table below:
Region Total YES YES NO NO Remarks Votes Vote Vote (%) Vote Vote Cast (No.) (No.) (%) Accra 143129 141570 98.9 1559 1.1 Ashanti 425022 425022 100.0 0 0.0 Not a single ‘No’ vote in the entire region Brong 368369 368369 100.0 0 0.0 Not a single ‘No’ vote in Ahafo the entire region Central 441041 441041 100.0 0 0.0 Not a single ‘No’ vote in the entire region Eastern 390938 390938 100.0 0 0.0 Not a single ‘No’ vote in the entire region Northern 201811 201781 99.9 30 0.1 Upper 326045 325859 99.9 186 0.1 Volta 262070 261393 99.7 677 0.3 Western 217947 217947 100.0 0 0.0 Not a single ‘No’ vote in the entire region National 2776372 2773920 99.9 2542 0.1 Source: Ghanaian Times, 4 February 1964; Austin 1964:414.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 53 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic From the table above;
Not a single ‘No” vote was cast in five regions: Western, Central, Brong Ahafo, Eastern and most significantly the opposition stronghold of Ashanti.
In two other regions (Northern & Upper) the ‘No’ vote was 0.1% and in Volta 0.3%
It was only in the Accra District that the ‘No’ vote was as high as 1.1%.
Post-Referendum Politics
In February 1964 Ghana became a Convention People’s Republic. The party flag was overprinted with a black star and replaced the national flag; the Minority Group in Parliament and the United Party outside Parliament was finally abolished. And the open competitive society Ghana had known from 1951 was completely repressed (Austin 1964: 414).
Indeed the referendum was the logical outcome of an earlier private member’s motion calling for the establishment of a single party state which had been approved in September 1962 (Austin 1964: 415). Though Nkrumah supported the motion no concrete action was taken on the matter at the time (Fordwor 2010: 98).
With the introduction of one-party rule in Ghana, all the rights and freedoms that had been previously assumed to be guaranteed to the people of Ghana were effectively abolished. There was no freedom of movement, no freedom of association and no freedom of speech in the country. Ghana ceased to have free trade unions which operated with the support of workers and the trade unions became just one more of the instruments of the CPP government used to suppress the masses. The press was also brought under the direct control of the Government and soon became part of the machinery that Nkrumah and the CPP used to show the power of the government and to oppress Ghanaians (Fordwor 2010: 98-9).
On the other hand, Justices Van Lare and Akufo-Addo were dismissed as judges.
54 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Activity 5.1 1. Outline the issues and outcome to be approved in the 1964 referendum?
2. What were the effects of the introduction of the one party system in Ghana?
Summary
Congrats for finishing another section in Unit 2. You have learnt about the very ridiculous outcome of the 1964 referendum and how that weakened both the opposition and the judiciary. Well done.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 55 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Section 6 The 1965 Parliamentary Election Introduction
You are very welcome to Section 6 of Unit 2. In this very last section in this Unit You will learn about the last election in the Nkrumah era. It was also the first election under the one-party system. The election was decided in a very funny way. Read on.
Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to
explain the significance of the 1965 election
indicate the changes made in relation to the number of constituencies
show how the winners were declared
identify various categories of MPs by the lengths of their tenure
how the term of the 1965 Parliament ended
Upon the expiry of his five year term of office as President, Nkrumah was re-elected for a second term in June 1965 by the CPP. This in fact was a mere formality since Nkrumah had previously been made Life President on a private members motion.
On May 25th Nkrumah dissolved the National Assembly which in 1960 had been converted into the First Parliament under the Republican Constitution. It was announced that parliamentary election was scheduled for June 9th to elect members of the Second Parliament. The number of parliamentary seats has been increased to 198 in line with the CPP policy of making each constituency coterminous with a local council.
The Contest
As the only legal party in the country, the CPP had the sole right to contest the elections. For this purpose, the Party decided that candidates for election would be selected by its Central Committee. In the absence of any other contestants, the candidates nominated by the Central Committee were declared
56 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic unopposed and returned as members of the National Assembly (Fordwor 2010: 99).
The Outcome
Most of the members of the enlarged Parliament were entering the House for the very first time but there were several of them who have previously served various terms as shown below:
There were a number of the MPs who had been members of the House continuously from 1951. They included Krobo Edusei (Ashanti), J. E. Hagan and Kojo Botsio (Central), Abraham Mate Johnson (Eastern), J. H. Allasani, J. A. Braimah, Yakubu Tali (Northern), Jambaidu Awuni, Ayeebo Asumda, Akantigsi Afoko and Lawrence R. Abavana (Upper), and Ashford E. Inkumsah (Western).
Several more had stayed in the House since 1954. Some regional examples were: J. Y. Ghann and R. O. Amuako Atta (Ashanti), S. W. Yeboah and C. S. Takyi (Brong Ahafo), Kofi Baako and E. K. Bensah (Central), K. Sintim Aboagye, E. I. Preko and E. H. T. Korboe (Eastern), R. M. Abbey (Greater Accra), Nantogmah Attah, Emmanuel A. Mahama and S. I. Iddrisu (Northern), W. A. Amoro, C. K. Tedam and Jatoe Kaleo (Upper), F. K. D. Goka, N. K. Maglo and S. A. Dzirasa ( Volta), and S. E. Arkah and John Arthur (Western).
Among those who had been in the House since 1956 were: J. D. Wireko and J. A. Owusu Ansah (Ashanti), William Ntoso and I. W. Benneh (Brong Ahafo), W. A. C. Essibrah (Central), M. O. Kwatia and A. K. O. Agyeman (Eastern), A. K. Puplampu and E. Ago-Ackam (Greater Accra), Salifu Yakubu (Northern), Baba Ayagiba and D. D. Balagumyetime (Upper), B. A. Konu (Volta), J. Benibengor-Blay and W. K. Aduhene (Western).
Most of the ten women representatives in 1960 were returned in 1965: Comfort Asamoah (Ashanti), Lucy Anim and Victoria Nyame (Brong Ahafo), Grace Ayensu (Central), Mary Winifred Koranteng (Eastern), Sophia Doku (Greater Accra), Susanna Al-Hassan (Northern) Regina Asamany (Volta) and Christiana Wilmot (Western)
Post-Election Politics Kofi Asante Ofori Atta (formerly A. E. A. Ofori Atta), MP and Minister since 1954 and in 1965 MP for Begoro was elected the new Speaker.
The life of the 1965 Parliament was cut short by the February 1966 coup.
Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon 57 POLI 444 Electoral Politics and Democracy in Ghana Unit 2 Elections in Ghana up to the End of the First Republic Activity 6.1 1. How did the one party system affect the 1965 parliamentary election?
2. What changes were made in the number of parliamentary seats for the 1965 election?
Summary
Well done. You have in this last section learnt about how MPs were elected under the one-party system in 1965 and how the life of that Parliament was cut short by the February 1966 coup.
Unit Summary
Congratulations for going through Unit 2. You have demonstrated that you are very much ready to complete the whole module in good time. Well done!
I have in this Unit discussed the three elections held before independence (1951, 1954 &1956) which were all won by the CPP and the weaknesses of the opposition parties. In 1951 only 38 seats were contested but the CPP, a party which broke away from the UGCC won nearly all the seats and formed the first government, In 1954, many parties emerged to challenge the CPP but because those parties were regionalist in nature, the CPP could still win more than 70 of the 104 seats. In 1956, because of the demand for a federal system by the NLM, a party formed after the 1954 election, another election was held. The NLM formed an alliance with the other opposition parties but they could still not defeat the CPP which did as well as in 1954 and led the country to independence in 1957.
You further learnt that between 1957 and 1960, the CPP took measures which weakened the opposition and reduced its size in Parliament by half. In the 1960s, elections became increasingly unfair until 1965 when names of MPs were announced without election. The life of that Parliament was brought to an end in 1966 by the coup and that also brought to an end 15 years of the CPP in power.
I hope you have enjoyed working through this Unit with us and you are looking forward to studying elections in the Second and Third Republics in Unit 3.
58 Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, Legon