1948 Upper Voltan Territorial Assembly election explained

Territorial Assembly elections were held in French Upper Volta on 30 May 1948, with a second round on 20 June.[1] They were the first elections to the new Territorial Assembly, which had been created following the separation of Upper Volta from Ivory Coast the previous year.[2]

Electoral system

The Territorial Assembly had 50 seats, with 10 elected by the First College (French citizens) and 40 by the Second College (non-French citizens).[3] The 1948 elections elected an additional 24 seats; six to the first college and 16 to the second.[1]

Campaign

Governor Albert Mouragues was accused of favouring the Voltaic Union over the African Democratic Rally-affiliated Entente Voltaïque (EV),[2] with some commandants "using strong-arm methods" against the EV candidates, whilst a significant number of EV supporters were imprisoned.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Joseph-Roger de Benoist (1982) Afrique occidentale française de 1944 à 1960, p538
  2. Lawrence Rupley, Lamissa Bangali & Boureima Diamitani (2013) Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso, Rowman & Littlefield, pxli
  3. Virginia Thompson & Richard Adloff (1958) French West Africa, Stanford University Press, p56
  4. Thompson & Adloff, p175