From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Northern Rhodesia Congress
was a
political party
in
Zambia
.
History
[
edit
]
In 1940, as the
Northern Rhodesia Congress
(
NRC
), also known as the
Northern Rhodesia African Congress
(
NRAC
), was formed.
Godwin Lewanika
, a
Barotseland
native from an
aristocratic
background, became the first president.
[1]
[2]
It was the first African political party in the country. NRC had its roots in the
Federation of Welfare Societies
, active between 1940 and 1946.
[2]
In 1951 the party adopted the name
Northern Rhodesian African National Congress
(
NRANC
) under the presidency of
Harry Nkumbula
, and was linked to the
African National Congress
in
South Africa
. In 1953
Kenneth Kaunda
became the general secretary of the organization.
The NRANC was the leading force of Northern Rhodesian nationalism in the 1950s. It opposed federation, and boycotted shops where the
Colour Bar
was implemented. In 1955 Nkumbula was imprisoned for possessing banned literature. In 1957 he visited London, gaining some support from the
British Labour Party
.
[3]
In 1958 the party was divided on whether to participate in the
1959 Northern Rhodesian general election
, in which only a minority of the black population was allowed to vote. The more
radical
Kaunda broke away, and formed the
Zambia African National Congress
, which was banned in 1959. The NRANC won a single seat in the elections. In the
1962 general elections
the party won seven seats, becoming the third-largest faction in the Legislative Assembly and held the balance of power. Prior to the elections Nkumbula had made a secret electoral pact with the
United Federal Party
, but decided to form a government with the
United National Independence Party
.
The party won ten seats in the
1964 general elections
, and following independence, was renamed the Zambian African National Congress. Nkumbula ran for president in the
1968 general elections
, finishing second to Kaunda with 18% of the vote. The party won 23 of the 110 seats in the
National Assembly
, remaining the main
opposition party.
In 1973 the party was banned,
[4]
as the country became a one-party state.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Northern Rhodesia", Northern-rhodesia.co.tv, 2011, web:
NR-1
Archived
2016-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
a
b
"Northern Rhodesia Congress", Britannica.com, 2011, web:
EB-NRC
.
- ^
Simon, David J.; Pletcher, James R.; Siegel, Brian V., eds. (2008). "African National Congress (ANC)".
Historical Dictionary of Zambia
. African Historical Dictionaries. Vol. 106 (3rd ed.). Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press. pp. 6?7.
ISBN
978-0-8108-5305-8
.
- ^
Zambia: Defunct parties
EISA