Low participation of females in 2024 elections worrying – EC

A Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Bossman Asare, has expressed concerns over the limited participation of females in the 2024 election.

Speaking at a forum with some religious leaders and representatives from political parties at Winneba on Friday, October 25, 2024, he reiterated the need for greater female representation at all levels of decision-making in the country.

He noted that out of approximately 800 candidates contesting for parliamentary seats nationwide, only 120 are females.

"This year, as you are aware, the filing fee for female candidates and persons with disabilities was reduced by 25 percent. So, for the presidential election, male candidates paid GH¢100,000, and female candidates and persons with disabilities also paid GH¢75,000.

"For the Parliamentary election, the male candidates paid GH¢10,000 cedis, and the female candidates and persons with disabilities also paid GH¢7,500 cedis.”

He added "The main idea was to encourage more women in the process, but unfortunately, the numbers were not very encouraging. So, far with the Parliamentary, we are having about 830 candidates, and only about 120 of them are females, and that is roughly about 13 percent."

Dr. Bossman Asare also stressed the role of the church in ensuring a peaceful election.

"We strongly believe the prayers of the church are very important. We realise that without prayer, we cannot do a lot, but when we pray and put in the necessary work, we will go very, very far.

"The Electoral Commission, we are trusting God to see us through very peaceful elections. However, we are also putting in all the hard work that is necessary to achieve that. As we speak now, the Electoral Commission has completed a chunk of the processes. We have done our registration; we have done our exhibition and the second version of the exhibition, which we have concluded. We have done the nomination exercise," she added.

Although the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees political rights for women, their representation in government and the public sector remains minimal.

JKB/ ADG

In the meantime, follow Ernestina Asante as she tours the Asokwa Constituency and speaks with MP Patricia Appiagyei in this episode of Campaign Trail on GhanaWeb TV: