In order to improve the nation's democracy, voters are being asked to cast their ballots for more women in the approaching 2023 District Level Elections (DLE).
A year before the general elections, the DLE is held. The date for the local-level elections has not yet been announced by the electoral commission.
At a news conference yesterday in Accra, Mary Ankomah, Senior Programs Officer for the international non-governmental organization ABANTU for Development, made the plea on behalf of the group, noting that voting for women will help advance development and give them more influence.
Because women make up a higher fraction of the population, Ms. Ankomah argued that the gesture would also advance gender equality, diversity in decision-making, and the creation of consensus.
She emphasized that "delivering on the fundamental elements of democracy" requires women to participate in elections without unjust gender-based hurdles, whether they are party or nonpartisan.
legislative intent
Therefore, Ms. Ankomah urged the government to show political will by enforcing regional and international protocols, treaties, and agreements on the minimal participation requirements for women in decision-making bodies.
In order to facilitate the 40% representation of women, she continued, "We call for the immediate promulgation of the Affirmative Action Bill into law as agreed by Ghana and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) agreement, as well as in the 1989 Government White Paper."
In order to increase the participation of women, it also proposed the creation of a finance structure for female candidates, led by the state.
Statistics
Only 39 of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), or 15%, were women, according to Edmund Nii Adjetey Adjei, Public Relations Manager for the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG). Of the 10 presiding members, about 3.9% were women.
The elections are approaching in roughly five months, and people need to be aware of them. Mr. Adjei asked the media to promote the discussion and call the country's attention to it.
Funding
Kingsley Offei-Nkansah, the chairman of the Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN), asserted that in order for society to advance,
blogpay
Total Comments: 0