Chief condemns the demand for money before voting

Atobiase-Adansi (Ashanti), Oct 17, GNA - A traditional ruler has expressed concern about the practice where the electorate demand money from contestants before exercising their franchise.

Nana Kwaku Owusu, Akwamuhene of Atobiase-Adansi, said if this was not checked the country's democracy would suffer in future. Nana Owusu was contributing to discussions at a capacity building workshop attended by opinion leaders and about 40 women who contested the last District Assembly Elections in Obuasi, Adansi South and Adansi North districts and most of them lost.

The programme organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Electoral (EC) and the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs was to encourage women to show resilience and contest future elections.

It was under the theme "Enhancing Gender Quality in democratic governance".

He said efforts must be made to discourage the practice since the demand for money before voting influenced the results of the elections. Another contributor emphasised the need for the society to encourage women participation in the said elections by not only assisting them to contest, but to vote for them to enhance gender equality in local governance.

Mr Samuel Akuamoah, the UNDP Representative, expressed surprise about why women who contested lost regardless of the capacity programmes and a number of campaigns by gender advocates to the effect that women should be supported and voted for.