Elections to the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

were held in

French Cameroons French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under Germ ...

on 21 October 1945, with a second round of voting on 18 November.

Dolf Sternberger Dolf Sternberger (originally ''Adolf Sternberger''; 28 July 1907 in Wiesbaden – 27 July 1989 in Frankfurt/Main) was a German philosopher and political scientist at the University of Heidelberg. Dolf Sternberger is known for his concept of cit ...

Bernhard Vogel Bernhard Vogel (; born 19 December 1932) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was the 4th Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1976 to 1988 and the 2nd Minister President of Thuringia from 1992 to 2003. ...

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Klaus Landfried (1978) ''Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband'', pp902–903

Louis-Paul Aujoulat Louis-Paul Aujoulat (28 August 1910 – 1 December 1973) was a French politician and missionary doctor. Following his long and illustrious political career he served as France's representative to the World Health Organization. Early life Aujoulat ...

and Alexandre Douala Manga Bell were elected.

Electoral system

The two seats allocated to the constituency were elected on two separate electoral rolls; French citizens elected one MP from the first college, whilst non-citizens elected one MP in the second college.

Background

The relationship between the French and the African population of Cameroon were poor at the time of the election; the Africans were unenthusiastic about French colonialism and their economic situation. Although trade unions had been legalised in 1944, commercial interests had subsequently formed the Etats Généreaux de la Colonisation Française, which opposed abolishing forced labour. Announcements from the new body infuriated African workers, leading to the strikes starting on 24 September, which turned into full-scale riots. The violence led to the deaths of eight Africans and the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.

Edward Mortimer Edward Mortimer (22 December 1943 – 18 June 2021) was a UN civil servant, journalist, author and academic. He was Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, from 2013. From 2001 to 2006, he was the Director of Communications in the ...

(1969) ''France and the Africans 1944–1960: A political history'', Faber, p67

Campaign

Alexandre Douala Manga Bell, chief of the Duala, ran for the second college, but was opposed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Henri Pierre Nicolas. Although some of his supporters were jailed, this only served to increase his popularity. The first college election was a close race between Louis-Paul Aujoulat, a Catholic missionary, and the candidate representing commercial interests.

Results

First College

Second College

Aftermath

Following the elections, Senegalese MP Lamine Guèye attempted to persuade all the African MPs to form an African Bloc, which would be affiliated with the

SFIO The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

. However, the attempt failed, and both Aujoulat and Douala Manga Bell joined the

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...

.Mortimer, p72

References

{{Cameroonian elections

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

French elections in Cameroon French Election and referendum articles with incomplete results