Convention People's Party
Convention People's Party Apam Nkorɔfo Kuw (Akan) | |
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Leader | Samia Yaba Nkrumah |
Chairman | Samia Nkrumah |
General Secretary | Ivor Kobbina Greenstreet |
Founder | Kwame Nkrumah |
Founded | June 12, 1949 | . Banned 1966. Refounded 29 January 1996.
Headquarters | House No. 64, Mango Tree Avenue, Asylum Down, Accra, Ghana |
Youth wing | Convention People's Party Youth League |
Ideology | Nkrumaism Socialism Pan-Africanism |
Political position | Left-wing |
National affiliation | Ghana |
Colors | Red, white and green |
Slogan |
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6th Parliament of 4th Republic | 1 / 230
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Election symbol | |
Red cockerel on a white background | |
Party flag | |
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Website | |
http://conventionpeoplesparty.org/ | |
The Convention People's Party (CPP) (Akan: Apam Nkorɔfo Kuw) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of former President Kwame Nkrumah.
The CPP was formed on 12 June 1949 by Kwame Nkrumah to campaign for the independence of the Gold Coast.[1] It was the governing party under Kwame Nkrumah of the autonomous British colony of the Gold Coast from 1951 to 1957, and independent Ghana from 1957 to 1966. In 1964 the constitution was changed to make the CPP the only legal party in Ghana, making the nation a one-party state. The party was banned after the 24 February 1966 coup d'état by the National Liberation Council. Parties following in its tradition have used various names.[2] The party was reformed from some of the Nkrumah factions in 1996.
Creation of the CPP
The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) had been formed on 4 August 1947 with the goal of bringing about independence for Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah thought the UGCC's opposition to the colonial rulers lacked the necessary vehemence and urgency; he wanted immediate independence. Breaking from the UGCC on these grounds, he founded the CPP with the motto "self-government now". On 9 January 1950 the CPP called for countrywide boycotts and strikes. In the course of these, two policemen were shot dead, and the CPP leadership was arrested and imprisoned. This only increased Nkrumah's popularity. When general elections were held in 1951, the CPP won decisively, despite the imprisonment of Dr Nkrumah and other party leaders. Nkrumah was subsequently released to form the colony's first African government.[3]
Achieving Independence
With all this background, Nkrumah formed his first African cabinet in the British Empire in 1951.[1] This was not independence yet as he still rejected the idea that local rulers who favoured the British should be given a role in governing, since he viewed them as undemocratic.[1] Ironically, he would eventually become head of a one-party state.[1] He founded the party with others including Dzenkle Dzewu, Saki Sheck, and Kojo Botsio.
In 1956 further elections were held, with the British promising that if the majority of the people called for it, a date for independence would be set.[4] The CPP won 71 out 104 seats, paving the way for Ghana to gain its independence on 6 March 1957.[4] In 1958, two pieces of legislation approved by the CPP would help hasten Nkrumah's downfall.[4] One was the Trade Union Act, which made strikes illegal, and the Preventive Detention Act, which allowed the government to detain political opponents without trial.[4] The final step was heavily rigged referendum in 1964 which made the CPP the only legal party, with Nkrumah as president for life of both nation and party.[4]
The stage was set for the overthrow of the CPP in 1966 in a coup d’état by the National Liberation Council.[5]
After the coup, the CPP was banned.
CPP rebirth
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Hon._Samia_Nkrumah_and_President_Romano_Prodi.jpg/420px-Hon._Samia_Nkrumah_and_President_Romano_Prodi.jpg)
The CPP remained dissolved until 29 January 1996, when the National Convention Party and the People's Convention Party merged to form a new Convention People's Party.[6] The CPP has contested each election since 1996.
At the elections on 7 December 2004, the party won three out of 230 seats. Its candidate in the presidential elections, George Aggudey, won only 1.0% of the vote.
In the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana, the party won one parliamentary seat: that of Samia Nkrumah in the Jomoro constituency. The presidential candidate, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, performed below expectation, managing to get 1.4% of total valid votes.
Election results
Parliamentary elections
Election | Number of CPP votes | Share of votes | Seats | Outcome of election |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 252,266 | 3.0% | 1 | Only one seat[7] |
2004 | 257,466 | 3.0% | 3 | With others in opposition[8] |
2000 | 85,643 | 1.3% | 1 | One seat in opposition[9] |
1965 | 100% | 198 | One party state. Elected unopposed.[10] | |
1956 | 71 | Parliament at independence in March 1957.[11] | ||
1954 | 71 | Majority in Legislative Assembly with CPP government.[12] | ||
1951 | Not available | Not available | First CPP government under colonial rule.[13] |
Presidential elections
Election | Candidate | Number of votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Paa Kwesi Nduom | 113,494 | 1.3% | Placed 3rd[14] |
2004 | George Aggudey | 85,968 | 1.0% | 4th of 4[15] |
2000 | George Hagan | 115,641 | 1.8% | 4th of 7[16] |
1965 | Kwame Nkrumah | Elected unopposed.[17] | ||
1960 | Kwame Nkrumah | 1,016,076 | 89.07% | First Ghanaian president[18] |
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Kwame Nkrumah - Early years", Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- ^ "A visit to the Gold Coast", pp. 107-11.
- ^ Finley, Cheryl. "Of anniversaries and bicentennials", December 2006: 15(18).
- ^ a b c d e Kwame Nkrumah, "African Socialism Revisited", 1967.
- ^ "Heads of State of Ghana (1957 - To Date)". Ghananation.com.
- ^ "Arkaah says he can work with Rawlings despite". General News of Thursday, 1 February 1996. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 7 DECEMBER 2008". Adam Carr. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 7 DECEMBER 2004". Adam Carr. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 7 DECEMBER 2000". Adam Carr. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "About The Parliament of Ghana:History of the Parliament of Ghana". Parliament of Ghana. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "17 July 1956 Legislative Assembly Election". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "15 June 1954 Legislative Assembly Election". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "08 February 1951 Legislative Assembly Election". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF DECEMBER 2008". Adam Carr. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "07 December 2004 Presidential Election". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF GHANA - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF DECEMBER 2000". Adam Carr. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Single Party Elections". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "27 April 1960 Presidential Election". Albert C. Nunley. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
References
- Finley, Cheryl. "Of golden anniversaries and bicentennials: the convergence of memory, tourism, and national history in Ghana." Journeys 7.2. (December 2006), 15(18).
- "A visit to the Gold Coast", in Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1928), pp. 107–111. Edinburgh University Press.
External links
- 1949 establishments in Gold Coast (British colony)
- 1996 in Ghana
- African and Black nationalist parties in Africa
- African resistance to colonialism
- Black liberation movements in the British Empire
- History of Ghana
- Parties of single-party systems
- Political parties established in 1949
- Political parties established in 1996
- Socialist parties in Ghana
- Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa
- Pan-Africanism in Ghana