This is the second instalment of Eusi Kwayana’s reflections on the events of 1953 culminating in the suspension of the constitution by the British government
By Eusi Kwayana
The election victory of the PPP in 1953 has been both overrated and underrated.
In the previous article I referred to the supporting voters as a critical mass. The ‘critical mass’ was of many ethnic and many class and income levels as well as occupational ones. To cope with an unknown future we need to revisit our positions and reaffirm or modify them if necessary.
Under the first-past-the-post constituency system of 1953, it was a sweeping victory that took 18 of the 24 constituencies. Under the arithmetical PR system it would have not been the one-seat majority won by the combined opposition in 2014. The PPP share of the valid votes cast was 51 per cent and this was about 38 per cent of the total electorate. Perhaps this was a good measure, this 38 per cent of another important reality or ‘variable.’ And I have no statistics to offer.
Reflecting years later as a person involved on the significance of the 1953 vote for the PPP I had come to the conclusion that it was a vote of those throughout the country, members or