The Approach of Independence
Calls for independence had remained particularly muted in Sierra Leone, even as the British government brought about changes in the country clearly designed to lead in that direction. In early 1960, at the instigation of the British government, talks were begun with SLPP leaders to discuss independence. In May of that year, shortly before a constitutional conference in Great Britain, Milton Margai — who had been knighted in 1959 — was named the country's first prime minister, and the governor withdrew from the Executive Council’s operations.
At this time the PNP was the only party of significant size other than the SLPP, but a number of small parties continued in existence. They included the Kono Progressive Movement, later known as the Sierra Leone Progressive Independence Movement (SLPIM), and vestiges of the NCSL and the UPP. Nearly all of the parties announced their opposition to SLPP plans for independence, demanding that new national elections be held before the country broke its ties with Great Britain. Prime Minister Margai, always a skillful negotiator, was able to get all political party leaders to join the United National Front and present a common policy to Great Britain at the constitutional conference. After Margai offered to give the leaders of the other parties seats in his postindependence government, the demands for prior elections were dropped and the terms for the constitution agreed upon.
When the leaders returned to the country after the conference, one of them, Stevens, announced that he was not prepared to abandon the demand for elections before independence, and he accused the other leaders, including his fellow PNP members, of selling out the interests of their followers in return for government posts. His assertions were acclaimed by many Sierra Leoneans, and he left both the United National Front and the PNP to start a new party, the All People's Congress (APC). Almost immediately the APC registered an important triumph by winning two of the three seats on the Freetown City Council.
Despite this display of popular rejection for the United National Front and the SLPP, the British government continued plans for granting independence in 1961 without any further test of public support for the arrangements. Rioting, protesting the lack of elections, broke out and continued. In order to end it the government proclaimed a state of emergency just before independence and jailed more than forty APC leaders, including Stevens, until mid-May.
Sierra Leone became an independent country on April 27, 1961. The new constitution created a parliamentary system, the Legislative Council becoming the House of Representatives and Milton Margai serving as head of government. The queen, as titular head of state, appointed a governor general as her representative.
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