The Anlo Youth Organisation (also known as the Anlo Youth Association) was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 that existed in the Gold Coast

Gold Coast (British colony)

The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

 and later Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. It campaigned for the Ewe people under British rule to stay within Ghana after independence. It ended by merging with other parties to form a united opposition to the Convention People's Party

Convention People's Party

The Convention People's Party is a socialist political party in Ghana, based on the ideas of former President Kwame Nkrumah.The CPP was formed in 1949 by Kwame Nkrumah to campaign for the independence of the Gold Coast. It ruled Ghana from 1957 to 1966...

.

Before independence

The Anlo Youth Organisation was formed by Modesto Apaloo. The party mainly functioned in south-eastern Gold Coast, where the Anlo

Anlo Ewe

The Ewe people are an African ethnic group of about 6 million people, inhabiting the southeastern part of Ghana from the Eastern shore of the Volta River to the border of Ghana and Togo known as the Volta Region; meanwhile, a majority of Ewe are also located in the entire southern half of Togo. ...

s are located. The Anlos are a sub group of the Ewe

Ewe people

The Ewe are a people located in the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region, in southern Togo and western Benin...

s found in Ghana and Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

. Togoland

Togoland

Togoland was a German protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa"...

, where the Ewes lived was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 protectorate before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In 1952, the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  merged the south-eastern part of the Gold Coast which was part of the Eastern Province with the southern part of Trans-Volta Togoland, the British Togoland

British Togoland

British Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...

. This left the Ewe divided with one half under British rule and the other half under French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 rule. The party campaigned to have the British Togoland join Gold Coast at independence to form Ghana while the Togoland Congress

Togoland Congress

The Togoland Congress was a political party formed in 1951 to campaign for the unification of the Ewe people in British Togoland and French Togoland as a separate Ewe state. The party was defeated in the May 1956 UN plebiscite in British Togoland, which resulted in the unification of British...

 preferred the UN Trust Territory to be rejoined with French Togoland

French Togoland

French Togoland was a France Mandate territory in West Africa, which later became the Togolese Republic.-Mandate territory:...

.

In the election

Gold Coast legislative election, 1954

Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held for the second time in the Gold Coast on 15 June 1954. They were won by Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party, which took 71 of the 104 seats.-Background:...

 held on 15 June 1954, the party won one of the 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Modesto Apaloo was the sole elected MP from this party.

After independence

After Ghana obtained independence on 6 March 1957, the Avoidance of Discrimination Act, 1957 (C.A. 38), was passed. Its purpose was to prohibit the existence of political parties that were based on predominantly " ethnic, religious, or other sectional interests, with effect from 31 December 1957"

An Act to prohibit organizations using or engaging in tribal, regional,
racial and religious propaganda to the detriment of any community, or
securing the election of persons on account of their tribal, regional or
religious affiliations and for other purpose connected therewith.

This meant that the name Anlo which refers to a section of the Ewe people made it illegal for the party to continue to exist under that law. All the opposition parties, including the National Liberation Movement

National Liberation Movement

A national liberation movement is an organization engaged in a war of national liberation.National Liberation Movement may also refer to:* Movement of National Liberation, a leftist party founded by former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas...

, Moslem Association Party, Northern People's Party

Northern People's Party

The Northern People's Party was a political party in the Gold Coast which aimed to protect the interests of those in the Northern region of Ghana....

, Ga Shifimo Kpee, Togoland Congress and the Anlo Youth Organisation merged to form the United Party

United Party (Ghana)

The United Party was the main opposition party in the First Republic of Ghana. It was the only opposition party throughout its existence from 1957 until 1964 when Ghana became a one party state.-Formation:...

, under the leadership of Kofi Abrefa Busia

Kofi Abrefa Busia

Kofi Abrefa Busia was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969–72. He was born in Wenchi, in the then British colony of Gold Coast . He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, then at Wesley College, Kumasi from 1931–32. He later became a teacher at Achimota Secondary...

.

See also

• List of political parties in Ghana
• United Party (Ghana)
  United Party (Ghana)
  The United Party was the main opposition party in the First Republic of Ghana. It was the only opposition party throughout its existence from 1957 until 1964 when Ghana became a one party state.-Formation:...