Hopes of having more women in Parliament dim

Article: Salome Donkor
Gender and policy advocacy organisations recognise that improving the lives of women and other members of society require a balanced gender representation in government structures by promoting greater responsiveness to women in politics and decision-making.
Women would also have improved chances of being elected to political office to promote gender-balance in decision-making at all levels so that their interests and basic needs will continue to be met by influencing policies from a gender perspective and addressing inequalities and injustices in social relationships.
Results so far recorded after Sunday’s parliamentary elections, however seem to dim hopes of increasing the representation of women in the next Parliament.
In 2004, 104 women contested the parliamentary election out of which 25, comprising 20 females from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and five from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were elected into the current 230-member legislature. The number of female parliamentary candidates reduced to 103 this year.
So far, five new female parliamentary candidates have emerged victorious from the results declared — four of them on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the other on the ticket of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).
The government’s spokesperson on infrastructure, Ms Catherine Abelema Afeku of the NPP, polled 11,641 votes to unseat the incumbent MP, Mr Kojo Armah of the CPP, who got 2,314 votes, to win the Evalue Gwira Parliamentary seat.
The rest are Madam Beatrice Bernice Boateng (New Juaben South); Madam Gifty Klenam (Lower West Akyem), and Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo (Tema-West)
Ms Samia Yaba Christiana Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, won the Jomoro seat for the Convention People’s Party (CPP) after beating the incumbent MP Mr Lee Ocran.
Some of the incumbent female MPs who retained their seats are Ms Akua Sena Dansua of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Second Deputy Minority Whip, who retained the North Dayi seat for the third time with 26,734 votes, Madam Mary Salifu Boforo, who polled 17,506 votes to retain the Savelugu seat for the NDC for the fourth time, and Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, who retained the Tarkwa Nsuaem seat for the third time with 30,631 votes, as against 19,596 votes obtained by Mrs Christiana Kobina of the NDC.
Other incumbent female MPs who have retained their seats are Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, NPP, Bantama, Mrs Elizabeth Agyeman, NPP, Oforikrom, Shirley Ayorkor Botwey, Weija and the Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who retained the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat for the NPP.
Despite these the Deputy Minister for Education and Sports, Angelina Baiden Ammisah, lost her Shama seat to the NDC, while the Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, and the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Norley Ashietey, respectively surrendered the Nalerigu and the Ledzokuku seats to the NDC.
Fears that the number of women in the current legislature is likely to reduce have been deepened by the fact that six women out of the 25 who are currently in Parliament did not contest in the parliamentary elections.
Female MPs such Ms Anna Nyamekye (Jaman South) and Ms Hilda Josephine Addo (Kwadaso) lost their seats to males, during the primaries, while Mrs Gladys Asmah (Takoradi), Ms Christine Churcher (Cape Coast), Ms Theresah Amaley Tagoe (Ablekuma South) and Mrs Grace Coleman, who did not contest during the primaries, had their slots filled by males.
Only one out of the 23 female candidates fielded by the CPP has so far won the election.
Gender and policy advocacy organisations need to do more through sensitisation and empowerment programmes to increase social awareness as well as provision of financial assistance to female candidates.
That is necessary to increase the number of women who vote in order to increase the number of women who are elected to promote gender equality and women's participation in public life.
Until that is done, Ghana will still have a long way to go to attain 30 per cent of women representation in parliament.
Across Africa, improvements have been made in some countries such as Rwanda and South Africa. However, the 30 per cent representation of women in politics and decision making as a provision for the ultimate goal of 50 per cent representation as spelt out in the Beijing Platform for Action is yet to be achieved by majority of the countries that have ratified or signed onto the document. Currently Rwanda is the only country in the world where women make up the majority in parliament. Women secured 48 out of the 80 seats or 56.25 per cent. The Constitution of Rwanda provides for 30 per cent minimum quota for women in Parliament or 23 seats.