National Democratic Front (Asase Lewa): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox political party
{{Infobox political party
| name            = National Democratic Front
| name            = National Democratic Front
| native_name      =  
| native_name      = Dukɔa ƒe Demokrasi ƒe Akpa Aɖe
| native_name_lang =  
| native_name_lang = {{wp|Ewe language|Asalewan}}
| logo            =  
| logo            = [[File:AsalewanCOA.png|250px]]
| logo_size        =  
| logo_size        =  
| caption          =  
| caption          = The [[Asalewan Section of the Workers' International]] dominated the NDF throughout its existence
| abbreviation    = NLF
| abbreviation    = NDF
| leader1_title    = Leaders
| leader1_title    = Leaders
| leader1_name    = [[Edudzi Agyeman]], [[Adelaja Ifedapo]]
| leader1_name    = [[Edudzi Agyeman]], [[Adelaja Ifedapo]]
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}}
}}


The '''National Democratic Front''' ({{wp|Ewe language|Asalewan}}: ''Dukɔa ƒe Demokrasi ƒe Akpa Aɖe'') was a {{wp|united front}} in [[Asase Lewa]] during the late stages of the Revolution and early stages of the [[Asase Lewa#Bahian People's Republic and the Socialist Developmental State|Bahian People's Republic]] that unified the organized {{wp|political party|political parties}} supportive of the [[Asalewan Revolution]]. Though the [[Asalewan Section of the Workers' International]] led the Asalewan Revolution and in practice dominated the Front throughout its existence, the front was theoretically an alliance of three equal political parties and was ideologically justified in {{wp|Marxism|Nemtsovist}} class terms as an {{wp|New Democracy|alliance of various classes historically progressive in a colonial, semi-feudal context}}, namely the {{wp|proletariat|working-class}}, {{wp|peasantry|poor peasantry}}, and {{wp|hunter-gatherer|poor hunter-gatherers}} as represented by the Section, the {{wp|labour aristocracy}} as represented by the [[Labour Party (Asase Lewa)|Labour Party]], and wealthy peasants and hunter-gatherers, and the {{wp|anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist}} {{wp|petite bourgeoisie}} as represented by the [[National Progressive Party (Asase Lewa)|National Progressive Party]]. Though early Asase Lewa was nominally a {{wp|multi-party system|multi-party}} {{wp|democratic socialism|socialist democracy}}, all political parties outside the Front were prohibited and agreement between members of the Front meant that elections were in practice {{wp|uncontested election|uncontested}}. In [[Asase Lewa|elections held in 1953]], the Section received roughly two-thirds of seats in the [[Supreme Workers' Council (Asase Lewa)|Supreme Workers' Council]], and the Labour and National Progressive prties both received roughly one-sixth of seats.


The '''National Democratic Front''' was a {{wp|united front}} in [[Asase Lewa]] during the late stages of the Revolution and early stages of the [[Asase Lewa#Bahian People's Republic and the Socialist Developmental State|Bahian People's Republic]] that unified the organized {{wp|political party|political parties}} supportive of the [[Asalewan Revolution]]. Though the [[Asalewan Section of the Workers' International]] led the Asalewan Revolution and in practice dominated the Front throughout its existence, the front was theoretically an alliance of three equal political parties and was ideologically justified in {{wp|Marxism|Nemtsovist}} class terms as an {{wp|New Democracy|alliance of various classes historically progressive in a colonial, semi-feudal context}}, namely the {{wp|proletariat|working-class}}, {{wp|peasantry|poor peasantry}}, and {{wp|hunter-gatherer|poor hunter-gatherers}} as represented by the Section, the {{wp|labour aristocracy}} as represented by the [[Labour Party (Asase Lewa)|Labour Party]], and wealthy peasants and hunter-gatherers, and the {{wp|anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist}} {{wp|petite bourgeoisie}} as represented by the [[National Progressive Party (Asase Lewa)|National Progressive Party]]. Though early Asase Lewa was nominally a {{wp|multi-party system|multi-party}} {{wp|democratic socialism|socialist democracy}}, all political parties outside the Front were prohibited and agreement between members of the Front meant that elections were in practice {{wp|uncontested election|uncontested}}.
Despite the Section's dominant role, the Front formalized a {{wp|People's democracy (Marxism–Leninism)|tripartite power-sharing agreement}} between the Section and two political forces that allied with the Section late in the Revolution and aided in its victory, namely Asase Lewa's non-{{wp|Council communism|Councilist}} trade unions, which in the Labour Party served as the primary electoral opposition to the {{wp|conservatism|conservative}}, pro-[[Estmere|Estmerish]] rule of {{wp|Kwasi Kwarteng|Arko Kwarteng}} until Kwarteng outlawed independent trade unions and the Labour Party in 1948, and tribal chiefs, which the Section cohered into the National Progressive Party, concentrated in the [[Asalewan Highlands|Highlands]], and sympathetic to the Section on anti-colonialist and anti-{{wp|enclosure}} grounds. Though the Section dominated public affairs in Asase Lewa following the Revolution's victory, these forces had some political power in the initial post-Revolutionary years, {{wp|Politics of the Belly|reserving a portion}} of political {{wp|patronage}} and state jobs for their members, and influencing initial public policy; the Labour Party helped ensure a relatively privileged position for skilled industrial workers in the new state and the National Progressive Party considerably delayed {{wp|social reform}} and {{wp|collective farming|agricultural collectivization}} in the Highlands, such that collectivization would occur last in this region.
 
Despite the Section's dominant role, the Front formalized a {{wp|People's democracy (Marxism–Leninism)|tripartite power-sharing agreement}} between the Section and two political forces that allied with the Section late in the Revolution and aided in its victory, namely Asase Lewa's non-{{wp|Council communist|Councilist}} trade unions, which in the Labour Party served as the primary electoral opposition to the {{wp|conservatism|conservative}}, pro-[[Estmere|Estmerish]] rule of {{wp|Kwasi Kwarteng|Arko Kwarteng}} until Kwarteng outlawed independent trade unions and the Labour Party in 1948, and tribal chiefs, which the Section cohered into the National Progressive Party, concentrated in the [[Asalewan Highlands|Highlands]], and sympathetic to the Section on anti-colonialist and anti-{{wp|enclosure}} grounds. Though the Section dominated public affairs in Asase Lewa following the Revolution's victory, these forces had some political power in the initial post-Revolutionary years, {{wp|Politics of the Belly|reserving a portion}} of political {{wp|patronage}} and state jobs for their members, and influencing initial public policy; the Labour Party helped ensure a relatively privileged position for skilled industrial workers in the new state and the National Progressive Party considerably delayed {{wp|social reform}} and {{wp|collective farming|agricultural collectivization}} in the Highlands, such that collectivization would occur last in this region.


By 1958, however, a {{wp|strike action|strike wave}} by unskilled and semi-skilled workers, particularly in the city of {{wp|Sekondi-Takoradi|Kbeme}}, and the progression of collectivization, and {{wp|land reform}} and the {{wp|socialism|socialist transformation}} more broadly, intensified conflict between the Section and the Front's junior parties and contributed to the [[Anti-Tribal Revolution]], which included the forced merger of the Labour and National Progressive parties in the Section and creation of a {{wp|single-party state}}. Some former Labour and National Progressive party members retained important positions in the Asalewan state in the immediate years after the Anti-Tribal Revolution, before virtually all remaining officials who were former Labour or National Progressive Party members were attacked and {{wp|struggle session|denounced}} by various {{wp|Red Guards|rebel mass organizations}}, {{wp|purge|purged}} from office, and expelled from the Section during the [[Protective-Corrective Revolution]].
By 1958, however, a {{wp|strike action|strike wave}} by unskilled and semi-skilled workers, particularly in the city of {{wp|Sekondi-Takoradi|Kbeme}}, and the progression of collectivization, and {{wp|land reform}} and the {{wp|socialism|socialist transformation}} more broadly, intensified conflict between the Section and the Front's junior parties and contributed to the [[Anti-Tribal Revolution]], which included the forced merger of the Labour and National Progressive parties in the Section and creation of a {{wp|single-party state}}. Some former Labour and National Progressive party members retained important positions in the Asalewan state in the immediate years after the Anti-Tribal Revolution, before virtually all remaining officials who were former Labour or National Progressive Party members were attacked and {{wp|struggle session|denounced}} by various {{wp|Red Guards|rebel mass organizations}}, {{wp|purge|purged}} from office, and expelled from the Section during the [[Protective-Corrective Revolution]].
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| [[Asalewan Section of the Workers' International]] || ''Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Dukɔwo Dome Habɔbɔ ƒe Asaselewatɔwo ƒe Akpa'' || 10 July, 1912 || Stil active || [[Nemtsovism-Tretyakism-Adelajism-Edudzism]]<br>{{wp|Council communism|Councilism}}  
| [[Asalewan Section of the Workers' International]] || ''Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Dukɔwo Dome Habɔbɔ ƒe Asaselewatɔwo ƒe Akpa'' || 10 July, 1912 || Stil active || [[Nemtsovism-Tretyakism-Adelajism-Edudzism]]<br>{{wp|Council communism|Councilism}}  
|-
|-
| [[Labour Party (Asase Lewa)|Labour Party]]<br> || ''Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Habɔbɔ'' || 17 June, 1941 || 7 December, 1958 || {{wp|Labour movement|Labourism}}<br>{{wp|Left-wing nationalism}}
| [[Labour Party (Asase Lewa)|Labour Party]]<br> || ''Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Habɔbɔ'' || 17 June, 1941 || 7 March, 1958 || {{wp|Labour movement|Labourism}}<br>{{wp|Left-wing nationalism}}
|-
|-
| [[National Progressive Party (Asase Lewa)|National Progressive Party]] || ''Dukɔa ƒe Ŋgɔyiyihabɔbɔ'' || 21 February, 1947 || 7 December, 1958 || {{wp|Tribalism}}<br>{{wp|Anti-colonialism}}
| [[National Progressive Party (Asase Lewa)|National Progressive Party]] || ''Dukɔa ƒe Ŋgɔyiyihabɔbɔ'' || 21 February, 1947 || 7 March, 1958 || {{wp|Tribalism}}<br>{{wp|Anti-colonialism}}
|-
|-
|}
|}
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|5,135,165
|5,135,165
|100%
|100%
|{{Composition bar|700|700|hex={{party color|#FF0000}}}}
|{{Composition bar|700|700|hex=#FF0000}}
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{steady}} 1st
| style="background-color:#FF0000" |Sole legal coalition
| style="background-color:#FF0000" |Sole legal coalition

Latest revision as of 20:44, 28 May 2023

National Democratic Front

Dukɔa ƒe Demokrasi ƒe Akpa Aɖe
AbbreviationNDF
LeadersEdudzi Agyeman, Adelaja Ifedapo
Founded1949
Dissolved1958
Merged intoAsalewan Section of the Workers' International
Paramilitary wingPeople's Revolutionary Army
IdeologySocialism
Left-wing nationalism
Anti-colonialism
Pan-Bahianism
Political positionLeft-wing to far-left
ParticipantsAsalewan Section of the Workers' International
Labour Party
National Progressive Party

The National Democratic Front (Asalewan: Dukɔa ƒe Demokrasi ƒe Akpa Aɖe) was a united front in Asase Lewa during the late stages of the Revolution and early stages of the Bahian People's Republic that unified the organized political parties supportive of the Asalewan Revolution. Though the Asalewan Section of the Workers' International led the Asalewan Revolution and in practice dominated the Front throughout its existence, the front was theoretically an alliance of three equal political parties and was ideologically justified in Nemtsovist class terms as an alliance of various classes historically progressive in a colonial, semi-feudal context, namely the working-class, poor peasantry, and poor hunter-gatherers as represented by the Section, the labour aristocracy as represented by the Labour Party, and wealthy peasants and hunter-gatherers, and the anti-imperialist petite bourgeoisie as represented by the National Progressive Party. Though early Asase Lewa was nominally a multi-party socialist democracy, all political parties outside the Front were prohibited and agreement between members of the Front meant that elections were in practice uncontested. In elections held in 1953, the Section received roughly two-thirds of seats in the Supreme Workers' Council, and the Labour and National Progressive prties both received roughly one-sixth of seats.

Despite the Section's dominant role, the Front formalized a tripartite power-sharing agreement between the Section and two political forces that allied with the Section late in the Revolution and aided in its victory, namely Asase Lewa's non-Councilist trade unions, which in the Labour Party served as the primary electoral opposition to the conservative, pro-Estmerish rule of Arko Kwarteng until Kwarteng outlawed independent trade unions and the Labour Party in 1948, and tribal chiefs, which the Section cohered into the National Progressive Party, concentrated in the Highlands, and sympathetic to the Section on anti-colonialist and anti-enclosure grounds. Though the Section dominated public affairs in Asase Lewa following the Revolution's victory, these forces had some political power in the initial post-Revolutionary years, reserving a portion of political patronage and state jobs for their members, and influencing initial public policy; the Labour Party helped ensure a relatively privileged position for skilled industrial workers in the new state and the National Progressive Party considerably delayed social reform and agricultural collectivization in the Highlands, such that collectivization would occur last in this region.

By 1958, however, a strike wave by unskilled and semi-skilled workers, particularly in the city of Kbeme, and the progression of collectivization, and land reform and the socialist transformation more broadly, intensified conflict between the Section and the Front's junior parties and contributed to the Anti-Tribal Revolution, which included the forced merger of the Labour and National Progressive parties in the Section and creation of a single-party state. Some former Labour and National Progressive party members retained important positions in the Asalewan state in the immediate years after the Anti-Tribal Revolution, before virtually all remaining officials who were former Labour or National Progressive Party members were attacked and denounced by various rebel mass organizations, purged from office, and expelled from the Section during the Protective-Corrective Revolution.

Members

The National Democratic Front included the following parties:

Party Asalewan name Foundation Dissolution Ideology
Asalewan Section of the Workers' International Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Dukɔwo Dome Habɔbɔ ƒe Asaselewatɔwo ƒe Akpa 10 July, 1912 Stil active Nemtsovism-Tretyakism-Adelajism-Edudzism
Councilism
Labour Party
Dɔwɔlawo ƒe Habɔbɔ 17 June, 1941 7 March, 1958 Labourism
Left-wing nationalism
National Progressive Party Dukɔa ƒe Ŋgɔyiyihabɔbɔ 21 February, 1947 7 March, 1958 Tribalism
Anti-colonialism

Electoral history

Election Votes % Seats Position Outcome
1953 5,135,165 100%
700 / 700
Steady 1st Sole legal coalition