FLASHBACK: Ghana is not ready for a female running mate - Ursula Owusu

In 2011, the flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo declared Dr. Mahmud Bawumia, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana as his running mate.

He received a number of critics including one from the former senior minister, J H Mensah who proposed that a female running mate could have been his best option at the time.

Contrary to that, the member of parliament for Ablekuma South, Ursula Owusu stated that Ghana was not ready to have a woman at that level of governance. Adding that, the focus should be on increasing the number of females in parliament.

"I have seen so far there are no women in the names that have come up so far. I have said before that perhaps Ghana is not ready to have women at that level of governance.”

Read the full story originally published on December 10, 2011, on Ghanaweb

The NPP parliamentary candidate for the Ablekuma South, Ursula Owusu has told Citi news the country may not be ready for a female running mate as proposed by former senior minister J. H Mensah.

She told Citi news members of the NPP should give nana Addo breathing space to select a running mate of his choice.

Mr. J H Mensah has described Nana Addo’s selection of Dr. Mahmud Bawumia as running mate for 2008 as a mistake and has said he would not mind if Nana Addo went for a female.

Ursula Owusu said that although it would have been encouraging to have a first woman presidential candidate in Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of the NDC, she “didn’t think it is fair to put pressure on Nana Addo to choose a female running mate. ”

“I would have loved it if we had women standing on all the tickets but unfortunately that is not the case. ”

An Executive Member of International Federation of Women Lawyers, Ursula Owusu believed Ghana may not be ready for a woman to occupy that position.

She said, “But we will continue working in the larger interest of the empowerment of the Ghanaian women and that some day we will see women competing fairly at all levels of governance.

"I have seen so far there are no women in the names that have come up so far. I have said before that perhaps Ghana is not ready to have women at that level of governance. ”

She said it was rather prudent to focus on increasing the number of female parliamentary members and stressed that the NPP flagbearer be given a “free hand” to choose the appropriate running mate to wrestle power from the ruling NDC government.