Accra: Women groups, including the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and the women’s wing of various political parties, have made an earnest appeal to the electorate to prioritize voting for women in the upcoming December elections, transcending political party affiliations.
According to Ghana News Agency, this appeal is being viewed as the most effective strategy to augment the number of female representatives in Ghana’s parliament, thereby advancing the nation’s progress toward enhanced participation and representation of women in governance and leadership roles. The call to action was made during an Inter-Political Strategic Meeting organized by AWLN, with support from UN Women and the African Union, aimed at devising strategies to boost the presence of women in Ghana’s next parliament in 2025.
Currently, women hold only 40 out of the 275 parliamentary seats in Ghana, amounting to a mere 14.5 percent representation. It is noted with concern that only 29 of these women have secured their party’s candid
acy to contest for re-election in the 2024 polls scheduled for December 7. Dr. Charity Binka, President of the Ghana chapter of AWLN, underscored the importance of rallying behind female candidates, especially those vying for parliamentary seats, to elevate the number of women in parliament.
Given that 11 of the 40 female parliamentarians have lost the chance to return, Dr. Binka emphasized the critical need for the electorate to extend substantial support to women candidates, irrespective of their political affiliations. AWLN and allied women’s groups aspire for at least 100 out of the 118 women contesting in December to be voted into parliament, reflecting the country’s commitment to the recently enacted affirmative and gender equity law.
Mrs. Susan Aryeetey, Executive Director of FIDA Ghana, highlighted statistics indicating that women’s representation in African parliaments marginally increased from 25 percent to 26 percent between 2021 and 2024. She warned that at this pace, achieving gender parity cou
ld take more than a century. With 51.75 percent of registered voters in Ghana being women, she noted that substantial support from women voters could significantly enhance female representation in parliament by January 2025.
Mrs. Bridget Dzogbenuku, a former presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), emphasized that increasing women’s participation in leadership is as crucial as economic improvement. She rallied the electorate, particularly women, to support female candidates in the December elections, dispelling the notion of competition between women and men for power.
Mrs. Elizabeth Sam, running mate of the Liberal People’s Party, reiterated the call for women to lead the charge for gender equity and increased representation in parliament. She stressed the importance of voting for women candidates regardless of political affiliations, identifying political party affiliations as a significant barrier to women’s participation in governance and leadership.