The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) has urged relevant public sector organizations to aggressively advocate for increased voter turnout and the election of more women in this year’s District Level Election (DLE), which will take place on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
The association urged the Electoral Commission (EC), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Metropolitan, Municipal, District Assemblies (MMDAs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and other stakeholders to “vigorously campaign to increase voter turnout within the next few days because it is better late than never.”
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the President of NALAG, Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, also encouraged eligible voters to come out in their numbers to vote for more “courageous and competent women” who will be contesting in the DLE. Project The press conference is part of a six-year project known as “Partnership for Municipal Innovation — Women in Local Leadership (PMI-WILL)” with support from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The event was aimed at making a passionate appeal to Ghanaians of voting age to fully participate in the upcoming DLE and most importantly vote massively for more women.
Over the years, the DLE has been characterised by low patronage, with a national average turnout of 30 per cent. Mr Pempeh stated that addressing the challenge of low representation of women in decision-making process at the local level was necessary as it had a direct negative impact on the nation’s quest to promote democracy, inclusivity, gender equality and popular participation at the grassroot level. “Evidence suggests that when women are elected to leadership positions, they can make a difference for girls and women and strongly impact legislation.
“The number of female assembly members saddens my heart, I must say it’s nothing to write home about, and together we have to break the bias with all our might,” Mr Prempeh added. “We believe this is the time to make a massive change and bring more women to the various assemblies,” Mr Prempeh said.
Mr. Prempeh added that in order to boost women’s participation at the local level of governance, NALAG has worked with FCM to strengthen the capacity of over 300 women in the country through the PMI-WILL initiative.
Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Benin, and Zambia are also beneficiaries of the project.
He stated that the project was being undertaken in five regions of Ghana.
Greater Accra, Northern, Upper West Region, Bono East, and the Eastern Region are the regions.
He urged President Akufo-Addo to ensure “gender-friendly and unbiased representation” in the development agenda by appointing more women to supplement the number of people elected in the upcoming district level elections.
Assistance
During the press briefing, NALAG and FCM released a 23-page handbook produced in collaboration to guide women candidates running in local level elections in Ghana.