1945 French legislative election in Ivory Coast

none Elections to the French National Assembly were held in the territory of Ivory Coast (which included Upper Volta at the time) on 21 October 1945, with a second round on 4 November as part of the wider parliamentary elections. Voting was carried out using separate electoral colleges for citizens and non-citizens.François Reste de Roca French National Assembly François Reste de Roca and Félix Houphouët-Boigny were elected. Background In September 1944 African planters formed the African Agricultural Union (SAA) as a result of government policy that allowed them to be drafted as forced labour and their plantations destroyed based on allegations of infections with plant disease (although the real reason was that they were competing too successfully for the liking of European plantation owners).Edward Mortimer (1969) France and the Africans 1944–1960: A political history, Faber, p62 The union was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, and received support from the colony's administrators, resulting its members being exempted from forced labour. However, this went down badly with the European planters, who successfully lobbied the French government to remove Governor André Latrille and replace him with Henry Jean Marie de Mauduit, who was more sympathetic to their views. Ivory Coast's capital Abidjan had been given the status of "commune mixte of the second degree" in 1939, introducing elections for a town council. However, they were delayed due to World War II, and were held for the first time on 26 August 1945.Mortimer, p63 Although not a political party, the SAA was the most prominent African organisation in the territory and an African Bloc was formed around it to contest the elections, putting forward an exclusively African candidate list. Despite attempts by Europeans to get the elections postponed or boycotted, the Bloc went on to win the elections, as no Africans were willing to stand against them. Campaign The Bloc sought to secure a similar outcome for the second college elections to the National Assembly, but could not agree on a candidate. Intellectuals in Abidjan supported Kouamé Binzème, whilst SAA members backed Houphouët-Boigny. Binzème eventually contested the elections with the support of the Patriotic Action Committee of Ivory Coast.Catherine Boone (2003) Political Topographies of the African State: Territorial Authority and Institutional Choice, Cambridge University Press, p199 Houphouët-Boigny attempted to court the support of Mogho Naba Saba II, king of the Mossi. However, the Mossi were keen to regain separate status for Upper Volta, which the French had merged into Ivory Coast in 1932. As a result, they formed the Voltaic Union under encouragement from Governor Mauduit, and possibly under pressure from the Governor, the Mogho Naba put forward his "Baloum Naba" (chief of the pages), Tenga Ouedraogo, as a candidate. However, Houphouët-Boigny did gain the support of the Bobo, who disliked the Mossi.Mortimer, p64 As a result, Houphouët-Boigny drew most of his support from Ivory Coast, whilst Tenga Ouedraogo's support was concentrated in Upper Volta.Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p651 de Despite not being able to speak French, Tenga Ouedraogo's campaign received the full support of the colonial administration, who were seeking to prevent Houphouët-Boigny winning.Mortimer, pp63–64 However, it was claimed that Tenga Ouedraogo advised voters not to vote for him due to his lack of French education.Mortimer, p68 Results Houphouët-Boigny won the second college vote largely due to the strong organisation of the SAA in the south of Ivory Coast and the support of the Bobo. First College François Reste de Roca Radical-Socialist Party 785 1821 Richard-Édmond-Maurice-Édouard Brunot SFIO 628 952 Peraldi Independent 428 André Schock Independent 339 1 Auguste Denis Independent 268 Georges Maniglier 215 Marceau Somon 142 Pierre-Henri Chipeau 77 De Fournier 7 Johannés Besson 2 Abdoulaye Ndiaye 0 0 95 28 3938 3938 De BenoistJoseph-Roger de Benoist (1982) Afrique occidentale française de 1944 à 1960, pp520–521 Second College Félix Houphouët-Boigny African Agricultural Union 12680 12980 Tenga Ouedraogo Voltaic Union 9716 11621 Tidiane Dem fr Union of Tradespeople 998 611 Kouamé Binzème Progressive Party of Ivory Coast 729 243 Pierre Carrieu 366 Sanoussi Ouattara 275 Maurice Sillaret 207 63 Georges Tourot 205 38 Amadou Diop 128 Alphonse Boni 107 Charles Nignan 8 Godard 8 8 Sanny Sanon 1 Adrien Dignan Bailly 1 2 Georges Maniglier 29 Sanoussi Ouattara 1 406 157 31384 31384 Sternberger,https://books.google.com/books?id=nlG9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA677 Afrika: Politische Organisation und Repräsentation in Afrika Dolf Sternberger Bernhard Vogel Dieter Nohlen Klaus Landfried November 18, 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG 978-3-11-090480-2 Google Books Annals of the University of AbidjanAnnales de l'Université d'Abidjan, volumes 1–4, p21 Aftermath Following the elections, Senegalese MP Lamine Guèye attempted to persuade all the African MPs to form an African Bloc, which would be affiliated with the SFIO. However, the attempt failed, and Houphouët-Boigny joined the MUR.Mortimer, p72 References Ivory Ivory French French Category:French elections in Upper Volta Category:French elections in Ivory Coast Ivory