Low participation of women in 2024 elections worrying – EC

On October 26, 2024, 6:02 AM

Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) for Corporate Services Dr. Bossman Asare, has expressed disappointment over the low number of female candidates participating in the December 7 general elections.

According to him, only 120 women are contesting parliamentary seats out of the 800 candidates nationwide, a situation he views as a troubling gender imbalance in political representation.

Speaking at a forum held in Winneba, Dr Asare stressed the need for inclusive electoral participation.

He said despite efforts by the EC to encourage greater female involvement in politics, including a reduction in filing fees for female candidates and persons with disabilities, participation among women remains discouragingly low.

Dr Asare noted that women’s representation in politics is important for fostering balanced decision-making and ensuring that the needs and perspectives of all demographics are addressed in national policies.

“In this year’s nomination, 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 the female candidates and persons with disabilities also paid GH¢75,000.

“And for the Parliamentary elections, male candidates paid GH¢10,000 and the female candidates and persons with disabilities paid GH¢7,500 and the idea was to encourage more women to take part in the process but unfortunately the numbers that came were not very encouraging,” Dr Asare said.

The forum, held under the theme “Enhancing the Electoral Process and Fostering Peaceful Co-existence,” was organised to discuss pressing issues surrounding the upcoming elections and promote a collaborative approach to ensuring a fair and peaceful process.

Over the years, female representation in parliament and government has been quite low.

Although the situation seems to be improving, the improvement has been described by many gender activists and stakeholders as nothing to write home about.

Gender empowerment activists have been calling for and committing to facilitating gender equity in representation in parliament.

Many explanations have been assigned to the very low percentage of women in Ghana’s parliament, including electioneering characterised by insults, name calling and targeting of women candidates in a host of demeaning ways.

Other barriers mentioned include the impact of gender-based inequalities, resistance from traditional leaders, the failure of governments to abide by international commitments, the harsh nature of Ghanaian electoral politics, and political parties’ overall unwillingness to facilitate the effective participation of women.