SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The thesis traces post-war political development in Guinea leading to the independence of the territory in 1958. The particular focus is on the history of the Parti Democratique de Guinee (PDG) , chapter party of the interterritorial federal movement the Rassemblement Democratique Africain, and its relations with the French colonial government. Founded in 1946, the RDA was initially suppressed by the French administration due to its affiliation with the Communist Party. Although the FDA severed its ties with the Communists in 1950, in Guinea the PDG suffered from enduring suspicion because of its links with the Communist-dominated French trade union movement. Finally in 1955 the PDG and union leader Sekou Toure formally announced the party's disaffiliation from the Communists and his intention to create an autonomous African trade union. Subsequently the local authorities ceased the repression of the PDG and Toure was elected deputy to the National Assembly in Paris. Reforms introduced in French West Africa under the 1956 Loi-Cadre increasingly accorded territorial administration to elected African bodies. In 1957 the PDG swept local elections and gained control of the Territorial Assembly, municipal communes, and town councils in Guinea. Henceforth the PDG effectively governed the territory, wiping out the opposition parties and abolishing the institution of the chieftaincy. In May 1958 General Charles de Gaulle was called back to power in France and proceeded to form the Fifth Republic. The new Constitution created the French-African Community and suppressed the former Federation of West Africa. Despite repeated warnings of the consequences of "secession," Guinea was the sole territory to reject the Constitutional referendum of 28 September 1958, opting for immediate independence.