1958 Guinean constitutional referendum

A constitutional referendum was held in Guinea on 28 September 1958 as part of a wider referendum across the French Union (and France itself) on whether to adopt the new French Constitution; if accepted, colonies would become part of the new French Community; if rejected, the territory would be granted independence.

Alongside Niger, Guinea was one of only two territories where the major political party campaigned for a "no" vote,[1][2][3] and ultimately was the only colony to reject the constitution and opt for independence.[4] The Democratic Party of Guinea, which had won all but four seats in the Territorial Assembly election the previous year under the leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré, pushed for a rejection of the constitution, and on 19 October the party severed its ties with the African Democratic Rally, whose other members were in favour of retaining ties with France.[5]

The results showed that more than 95% of voters voted against the constitution, with a turnout of 85.5%.[6]

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	56,981	4.78
Against	1,136,324	95.22
Invalid/blank votes	10,570	-
Total	1,203,875	100
Registered voters/turnout	1,408,500	85.47
Source: Sternberger et al.[7]

Aftermath

Following the referendum, Guinea declared independence on 2 October. The French government reacted badly to the result, and although Touré had not been seeking it, withdrew totally from the country and halted any development assistance. As a result, the Guinean government turned to the Communist bloc to request aid, a step which the French government used in pressuring Western countries not to accept the Guinean independence.[8] Upon independence Touré assumed the office of President, and the country soon became a one-party state. Despite various assassination attempts and coup plots, Touré ruled until his death in 1984.[9]

References

1. Samuel Decalo. Historical Dictionary of Niger (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press, Boston & Folkestone, (1997) ISBN 0-8108-3136-8 pp. 56-59 ("Bakary"), 247-255 ("Political Parties"), 272 ("SAWABA")
2. Finn Fuglestad. Djibo Bakary, the French, and the Referendum of 1958 in Niger. The Journal of African History, Vol. 14, No. 2 (1973), pp. 313-330
3. Mamoudou Djibo. Les enjeux politiques dans la colonie du Niger (1944-1960). Autrepart no 27 (2003), pp. 41-60.
4. Schmidt, E (2009) Anticolonial Nationalism in French West Africa: What Made Guinea Unique? African Studies Review
5. O'Toole, T (1978) Historical Dictionary of Guinea p 60
6. "Elections in Guinea". African Elections Database. 12 November 2007.
7. Sternberger, D, Vogel, B, Nohlen, D & Landfried, K (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p839
8. "Nationalism and Decolonization in Africa during the Cold War". 8 April 2008.
9. Mohamed Pathe Jalloh. "Guinea: A Historical Profile". Sulima. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16.