1965 Ghanaian parliamentary election explained

Election Date:9 June 1965
Country:Ghana
Flag Year:1959
Type:parliamentary
Previous Year:1956
Previous Election:1956 Gold Coast general election
Next Election:1969 Ghanaian parliamentary election
Next Year:1969
Seats For Election:All 198 seats in the National Assembly
Majority Seats:100
Party1:Convention People's Party
Image1:Kwame Nkrumah (JFKWHP-AR6409-A).jpg
Leader1:Kwame Nkrumah
Seats1:198
Last Election1:71
Elected Members:List of MPs elected in the 1965 Ghanaian parliamentary election

Parliamentary appointments were scheduled to be held in Ghana on 9 June 1965.[1] As the country was a one-party state at the time, no parties except President Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP), were allowed to participate. The CPP's central committee nominated 198 candidates for the 198 seats in the National Assembly, who were then declared elected without a vote taking place.[1]

Background

Due to a constitutional amendment passed by the CPP majority and a referendum the previous year, the CPP had become the sole legal party. All other parties were banned. It was the first vote for the country's parliament since the pre-independence 1956 legislative elections; Nkrumah's victory in the 1960 constitutional referendum was taken by the President and his party as a fresh mandate from the people and the terms of National Assembly members were extended for another five years.

Results

As Ghana was now a one-party state, all 198 MPs representing the CPP were appointed by the president and elected unopposed.[2]

Aftermath

Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup in February 1966, the CPP was dissolved, and the constitution suspended. The conversion of the country's governance system was one of the major reasons for the 1966 coup. Multi-party politics was restored by the time of the next elections in 1969.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Elections in Ghana. African Elections Database.
  2. http://www.parliament.gh/about/about_parliament_ghana.html About The Parliament of Ghana