1946 Gold Coast general election

Background

A new constitution was promulgated by an Order in Council on 29 March 1946. The new Legislative Council would have 18 elected members and 14 nominated members, and for the first time would oversee the administration of the Ashanti Colony, which had previously been directly ruled by the Governor. The remainder would be elected in the provinces, by joint provincial councils, having previously been elected by provincial councils alone.

The new constitution demanded elections within three months of its promulgation and the first meeting of the Council within four months.

Results

In the provinces, the Asante Confederacy Council elected two chiefs and two commoners, including I. K. Agyeman, while the Joint Provincial Council of Chiefs elected seven royals and two commoners: C. G. Baeta and J. B. Danquah. The two members elected in Accra were Frederick Nanka-Bruce and Akilagpa Sawyerr, both from the Accra Ratepayers' Association, while Charles William Tachie-Mension was elected in Takoradi. The governor nominated Robert Ben-Smith, E. E. Dadzie, Nii Amaa Ollennu, M. B. Taylor and H. W. Thomas.

References

References

1. [http://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/british-gold-coasttogoland-1946-1957/ British Gold Coast/Togoland (1946-1957)] {{Webarchive. link. (2014-08-28 University of Central Arkansas)
2. of the Legislative Council's 32 members, 21 were black, including all 18 elected members. The first meeting of the Legislative Council was on 23 July 1946."The King's Message To Gold Coast", ''The Times'', 24 July 1946, p3, issue 50511
3. "Gold Coast's New Constitution", ''The Times'', 29 March 1946, p3, issue 50413