15th Jan 2015 A call, encouraging women to be more assertive and bold in electoral practices has been put out by Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education. She has challenged women to put themselves up for election into the district assemblies and unit committees in the country.
Mrs. Osei made the call at a day’s stakeholders’ forum held in the Ejisu Municipality for candidates contesting the upcoming district level elections by the Commission. The forum held with support from the European Union, and Mrs Osei urged women to say no to intimidation and fear, or bullying from any quarters.
The goal of the forum was to assist in teaching ways and means of conducting clean campaigns devoid of acrimony, to ensure a peaceful and successful poll, and to also discuss issues restricting women and disabled persons from holding political offices, and ways to improve the situation.
Attendees at the event were aspiring assembly and unit committee members, officials of the Electoral Commission, heads of decentralized departments, chiefs and civil society organizations in Ghana.
Mrs. Osei also spoke against personal attacks in politics, saying that it was a breach of the law and should be reported to authorities for adequate punishment. Only 18 out of the 174 candidates who have filed their nomination to contest the elections in the municipality are women.