By Bajin D. Pobia
Wa, Feb.15, GNA – The Christian Mothers Association of Ghana has been urged to encourage its members to take up leadership positions to claim political dominance at both the district assemblies and political parties’ elections of the country.
That, if done, would make them a pillar to influence national discourse and decision-making processes, and as well contribute to the national peace architecture in preventing violent conflicts in the country, especially before, during and after elections.
The association should therefore start now to put in place processes to involve its members to become polling assistants and agents, election observers and presiding officers in the impending national elections to ensure free, fair and violent free elections to legitimise the results.
Madam Esther Suglo, the Nandom Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) who made the call at a workshop organised for members of the association in the region, appealed to the church to support and motivate the women groups to participate actively in the activities of local governance at the grassroots level, and not to limit them to the church activities alone.
“Ghana must remain one nation and not a divided one after the elections”, she said, adding: “for this to be achieved, Ghanaians must vote on issues, policies and programmes devoid of ethnicity and religious affiliations.
Madam Suglo who was a resource person at the workshop, urged the association to consider corruption and other malfeasance activities in government circles as a hindrance to human development, and therefore should endeavour to hold duty bearers accountable on projects that were being undertaken in the communities.
Madam Olivia Ansu Amponsah, the Executive Secretary of the Christian Mothers Association, said in a year, the association trains its members so that they could actively participate in the elections through the deepening of their knowledge in the democratic processes to enhance peace.
She said the association was poised to organise such workshops throughout the country for its members to build their capacities and knowledge to enable them to participate in the elections and contribute their quota to national development.
Madam Blandina K. Domapielle, the Diocesan President of the Association, said women needed to be enlightened, especially during this electioneering year.
She said it was an opportunity for them to learn about the electioneering processes to sharpen their skills to help the country to conduct free and fair elections to sustain the peace and democratic values of the country.
The Head office of the association in Accra organised the workshop dubbed, “women in democratic development” with sponsorship from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung as part of its contribution to the deepening of the democratic processes in Ghana to ensure peace during this electioneering year.
The participants were taken through the overview of electoral processes in Ghana and the framework, election management bodies and elections administration in Ghana, political participation, voter registration, voter and civic education, gender, conflict prevention and management and domestic and international election observers.
GNA