1956 Gold Coast general election

none 1956 07 17 1956 Gold Coast general election Gold Coast 1877 parliamentary 1954 1954 Gold Coast general election 1965 Ghanaian parliamentary election 1965 All 104 seats in the legislative assembly 53 Convention People's Party File:Kwame Nkrumah - The National Archives UK - CO 1069-50-1.jpg Kwame Nkrumah 71 71 Northern People's Party Simon Diedong Dombo 15 15 Northern People's Party 391,817 68,709 J. B. Danquah National Liberation Movement (Ghana) 12 12 145,657 20.89% National Liberation Movement (Ghana) 1 57.10% 10.39% N/A 697,257 (50.1% of registered voters) List of MLAs elected in the 1956 Gold Coast general election List of MLAs elected in the 1954 Gold Coast general electionright|300px|thumb|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.Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p435 0-19-829645-2 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 Convention People's Party 398141 71 –1 National Liberation Movement 145657 12 New Northern People's Party 72440 15 0 Togoland Congress 20352 2 –1 Muslim Association Party 11111 1 0 Federation of Youth 10745 1 0 Independents 38811 2 –9 0 1392874 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 List of MLAs elected in the 1956 Gold Coast general election References Category:Parliamentary elections in Ghana Gold Coast General Gold Coast Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results