National Democratic Party
In late 1959, upon hearing that a new nationalist party was being planned to replace the banned Rhodesian African National Congress, he applied to join the new party, the National Democratic Party. In 1960 he was elected as Chairman of the Salisbury branch and member of the Central Executive. On 19 July 1960, Takawira was amongst a number of leading activists that were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the ANC. These arrests sparked unrest that became known as the March of the 7000. At a meeting on 21 September 1960, he was elected Interim President in place of Michael Mawema. At the party congress in November of that year, he stood for the post of President, but lost the contest Joshua Nkomo. One of Nkomo's first acts was to appoint Takawira as his replacement as Director of International Relations (based in London). In 1961 Takawira sent a strongly worded cable to Joshua Nkomo condemning the acceptance by the NDP delegation of the proposals for constitutional change. This led to an emergency trip to London and to a reversal of the NDP's stance.
Read more about this topic: Leopold Takawira
Famous quotes containing the words democratic party, national, democratic and/or party:
“No one can doubt the purpose for which the Nation now seeks to use the Democratic Party. It seeks to use it to interpret a change in its own plans and point of view.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“But for the national welfare, it is urgent to realize that the minorities do think, and think about something other than the race problem.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“From now on, I think it is safe to predict, neither the Democratic nor the Republican Party will ever nominate for President a candidate without good looks, stage presence, theatrical delivery, and a sense of timing.”
—James Thurber (1894–1961)
“This will not be disloyalty but will show that as members of a party they are loyal first to the fine things for which the party stands and when it rejects those things or forgets the legitimate objects for which parties exist, then as a party it cannot command the honest loyalty of its members.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)