National Liberation Movement (Ghana)
National Liberation Movement was a political party in Ghana, which has been established during the independence process in the Gold Coast colony in 1954.
The founder was a political leader of the Akan people of the Ashanti Baffour Osei Akoto. The NLM was era in the political tradition of the Danquah - Busia.
Political orientation
The NLM operated represent the interests of Ashanti in the center of present-day Ghana, as well as the then British colony of the Gold coast. The Ashanti are still a numerically and culturally important tribe within the still dominant ethnic group of the Akan in Ghana.
Making the NLM sought as an important opposition party, a political alliance with the other regional parties of that time as the Anlo Youth Association or the Northern Peoples' party with a strong counterbalance to the then dominant party of Kwame Nkrumah, the Convention People's Party ( CPP).
The political commitment of the NLM is ascribed joint responsibility for violent political riots in Kumasi because of the hard lobbying the local representative with the center in Kumasi Ashanti. In particular, when asked by the design of the Constitution of Ghana took the NLM a counter opinion to the prevailing policy of the CPP. The NLM wanted to enforce a federal constitution.
Election results of the NLM
In the elections of 1954, the NLM is achieved of 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly ( Legislative Assembley ). In the elections of 17 July 1956, the Assembly reached NLM 12 of 104 seats, which were all in the Ashanti region, so won with solid regional reference. The CPP emerged from two elections as the clear victor.
Especially in the elections of 1956, the NLM had deterred voters from other regions and tribal with the Harten -route towards a dominance Ashanti of Ghana. The Ashanti Empire was also been a dominate power in the region already in Vorkolonialenzeiten.
After independence in 1957
Soon after the independence of Ghana on March 6, 1957, a law to prevent discrimination ( avoidence of Discrimination Act 1957, CA 38 ) was adopted to operate the then Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah and later president of Ghana. This law prohibiting any group with an orientation based on ethnic, religious, regional or similar purposes with effect from 31 December 1957.
The full title of the Act was:
Law on the Prohibition of organizations that use propaganda to belonging to a tribe, a region, a race or a religion or use to the detriment of a community or to the election of persons because of their membership in a tribe, region or religion or similar securing purposes. (English: An Act to prohibit Organizations using or engaging in tribal, regional, racial and religious propaganda of to the detriment of any community, or Securing the election of persons on account of Their tribal, regional or religious affiliations and for other purpuse connected there with. )
The NLM was due to the significant relation with the SVolk Ashanti under the law and has been virtually overnight to an illegal group, although she was represented in Parliament since your election in 1954. Affected parties included the Muslim Association Party (MAP), Togoland Congress, the Northern Peoples' Party and other organizations as well as Ga Shifimo Kpee.
The city council of the political center of the NLM in Kumasi consisted mainly of NLM members. Kkrumah informed the City Council of ado and appointed CPP members to commissioners with the task of settling the city administration. Likewise, the former Brong- Ahafo Region was separated with the power center in Kumasi in two regions to smash the power relations. It thus emerged in 1958 the still existing Ashanti Region and Brong- Ahafo Region, each formed tribal councils and administrative units. The CPP wanted to finally bring the supremacy of the Central Ashanti region in Ghana under his control.
NLM - United Party
To go to a party ban out of the way, various parties joined together early in 1958 to the United Party (Ghana). The UP was composed of the following parties and groups:
- National Liberation Movement (NLM )
- Anlo Youth Association ( AYA )
- Togoland Congress ( TC)
- Northern Peoples' Party
- Muslim Association Party
- Ga Shifimo Kpee
With the founding of UP no longer existed officially the NLM. In addition to the successor party to the United Party was in Ghana, only the party Nkrumah, the Convention People's Party (CPP ) from 1958.