A constitutional referendum was held in Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

 on 28 September 1958 as part of a wider referendum across all French colonies

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

 (and France

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...

 itself) on whether to adopt the new French Constitution

Constitution of France

The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...

; if accepted, colonies would become part of the new French Community

French Community

The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946....

; if rejected, the territory would be granted independence.

Alongside Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

, Guinea was one of only two territories where the major political party campaigned for a "no" vote, and ultimately was the only colony to reject the constitution and opt for independence. The Democratic Party of Guinea, which had won all but four seats in the Territorial Assembly elections

Guinean Territorial Assembly election, 1957

Territorial Assembly elections were held in Guinea on 31 March 1957. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally, which won 56 of the 60 seats in the Assembly. Voter turnout was 60.3%.-Results:...

 the previous year under the leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré

Ahmed Sékou Touré

Ahmed Sékou Touré was an African political leader and President of Guinea from 1958 to his death in 1984...

, pushed for a rejection of the constitution, and on 19 October the party severed its ties with the African Democratic Rally

African Democratic Rally

The African Democratic Rally was a political party in French West Africa, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Founded in Bamako in 1946, the RDA quickly became one of the most important forces for independence in the region. Initially a Pan-Africanist movement, the RDA ceased to function as a...

, whose other members were in favour of retaining ties with France.

The results showed that more than 95% of voters voted against the constitution, with a turnout of 85.5%.

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	56,981	4.78
Against	1,136,324	95.22
Invalid/blank votes	10,570
Total	1,203,875	100
Source: African Elections Database

Aftermath

Following the referendum, Guinea declared independence on 2 October. The French government reacted badly to the result, and although Touré had not been seeking it, withdrew totally from the country and halted any development assistance. As a result, the Guinean government turned to the Communist bloc to request aid, a step which the French government used in pressuring Western countries not to accept the Guinean independence. Upon independence Touré assumed the office of President, and the country soon became a one-party state. Despite various assassination attempts and coup plots, Touré ruled until 1984.