ABSTRACT
The Republic of Ghana, called the Gold Coast until independence, occupies a respected position in Africa for two reasons. First, it was the first black state to become independent from colonial rule. Second, its first head of government, Kwame Nkrumah, led Ghana’s independence struggle, later playing a significant role in African and Third World affairs. As far as possible each ethnic group, together with its neighbors, was placed in an administrative unit that administered the daily affairs of that particular group. This unit was under the immediate control of a British administrative officer who would transmit colonial orders and laws to the people through a hierarchy of indigenous chiefs or traditional rulers. The Convention Peoples Party (CPP). The CPP, which favored a unitary state, won with 56 percent of the votes cast, but it is significant that in the regions where federalism was advocated, the opposition parties had majorities.
