The All People's Party was a former

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. It was formed by the merger between the

Popular Front Party The Popular Front Party (PFP) was the main opposition political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979–1981). In elections held on 18 June 1979, PFP presidential candidate Victor Owusu won 29.9% of the vote and the party won 42 of 140 ...

(PFP) led by

Victor Owusu Victor Owusu (26 December 1923 – 16 December 2000) was a Ghanaian politician and lawyer. He served as Attorney General and Minister for Justice on two occasions which were under the NLC and then Busia regime and also became Minister for Forei ...

, the

United National Convention The United National Convention (UNC) was a centrist political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979–1981). In the elections held on 18 June 1979 UNC presidential candidate William Ofori Atta William Ofori Atta (10 October 1910 ...

(UNC) led by

William Ofori Atta William Ofori Atta (10 October 1910 – 14 July 1988), popularly called "Paa Willie", was a Ghanaian founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathers of Ghana as one of " The Big Six" detained by the ...

and other parties in June 1981. It became the main

opposition party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

in Ghana during the Third Republic until the military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on 31 December 1981 after which all political parties were banned by the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...

. The ruling party at the time was the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served as the eighth president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He previously served as a diplomat in Lomé and in Geneva. Education Limann, whose origi ...

. Five opposition parties initially set out to form the APP. These are the PFP, UNC, the

Action Congress Party The Action Congress Party (ACP) was a political party in Ghana during the Third Republic (1979-1981). In elections held on 18 June 1979, ACP presidential candidate, Frank Bernasko, won 9.4% of the vote and the party won 10 of 140 seats in the N ...

(ACP), the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and the

Third Force Party The Third Force Party (TFP) was a political party in Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d ...

(TFP). The new party elected Victor Owusu of the PFP as its leader and

Mahama Iddrisu Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu is a Ghanaian politician who was a member of the Provisional National Defence Council and a former Minister for Defence. He is a founding member of the National Democratic Congress. He is the longest-serving Minister of D ...

of the UNC as deputy leader.

Obed Asamoah Obed Yao Asamoah (born 6 February 1936) is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and politician. Asamoah was the longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under Jerry Rawlings from 1981 to 1997. Asamoah was educated at King's College ...

, also of the UNC became the General Secretary with Obeng Manu as his deputy. John Bilson, leader of the TFP was elected as the chairman while Nii Amaa Amarteifio and J. H. Mensah of the PFP were appointed as deputy chairpersons. The ACP however withdrew from the merger before it was finalised.

References

1981 establishments in Ghana 1981 disestablishments in Ghana Defunct political parties in Ghana Political parties disestablished in 1981 Political parties established in 1981 {{Ghana-party-stub

See also

References