Convention People's Party - CPP Achieves Independence

CPP Achieves Independence

With all this background, Nkrumah formed his first African cabinet in the British Empire in 1951. This was not independence yet. He still rejected the idea that local rulers who favored the British should be given a role in governing, since he viewed them as undemocratic. Ironically, he would eventually become head of a one-party state. He founded the party with others like Dzenkle Dzewu, Saki Scheck, Kojo Botsio among others.

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. The CPP won 71 out 104 seats, paving the way for Ghana to gain its independence on 6 March 1957. In 1958, two pieces of legislation was approved by the CPP. 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. The final step was a referendum in 1964 which made the CPP the only legal party, with Nkrumah as president for life of both nation and party, though Ghana had essentially been a one-party state since independence in 1957.

The stage was set for the overthrow of the CPP in 1966 in a coup d’état by the National Liberation Council.

After the coup, the CPP was banned.