Nyasaland African Congress NAC was banned. On 3 March, Banda, along with hundreds of other Africans, was arrested in the course of "Operation Sunrise". The NAC was succeeded by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), led from prison by Hastings Banda. The British came to accept that independence was inevitable. Hastings Banda was released in 1960 and allowed to return to prepare for elections. In 1961 the MCP overwhelmingly won the first elections held under universal suffrage, and in 1963 the country gained self governance followed by independence the next year with the new name of Malawi. Sources Nyasaland African Congress The Nyasaland African
Nyasaland Association to the 1956 general elections, it campaigned on a platform to "protect and foster the interests of Europeans in Nyasaland and to further the economic development of the territory". It also called for the constitution to remain unchanged for a year after the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was finalised, as well as seeking further land for European settlement. The party was widely regarded as a political vehicle for Michael Hill Blackwood. On 13 January 1956 the party announced that it had agreed on six candidates for the six non-African seats up for election. However, two candidates (F G Collins