By Mohammed Balu
Tumu, (UWR), June 06, GNA – The Centre for Social Mobilization and Sustainable Development (Censodev) has held a town hall meeting on Women’s Voter Mobilization Project 2024 in Tumu to boost female participation in the 2024 general election.
It also officially launched the Political Accountability Activity (POLA) where stakeholders took turns sharing what they were doing to promote women activities.
Mr Braimah Sanjage, the Executive Director of Censodev, said the project aimed among other things to increase voter turnout among marginalized groups, particularly women, in the upcoming 2024 elections.
He outlined the project’s objectives and goals during a presentation saying, “the campaign to inspire massive participation of Women in the 2024 Limited Voter Registration is designed to educate and increase the knowledge of marginalized and minority groups, specifically women and youth, about the electoral process. We aim to significantly boost their participation in the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections”, he said.
Mr Charles Oteng Bonsra, the Sissala East Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission also reported that, the Commission registered over 780 new voters, with women making the majority of about 51.9 per cent.
“The registration has been smooth, and we have recorded no major inconveniences”.
He added that the Commission was now moving to the next phase, which included voter transfers and replacement of lost voter cards, special voting registration and proxy voting.
Mr Hussein Elyasu, the Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), emphasized the importance of inclusive voter participation.
“Everyone aged 18 and above has the fundamental right to vote. We need to address the issue of minors being encouraged to register by political parties, which undermines our democratic process,” he said.
The NCCE Director also urged women and marginalized groups to take on leadership roles and resist vote-buying tactics.
Meanwhile, Mr Samuel Akueteh, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture addressed the impact of climate change, urging women to adopt sustainable practices. “Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation contribute to global warming, leading to flooding and droughts. We must regulate our activities to mitigate these effects”, he warned.
Mr Liman Alhassan, who spoke on behalf of the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive, commended the women for their sacrifices and encouraged them to support each other.
“Women must rally behind one another to uplift each other,” he stated.
In his closing remarks, Pio Kwabalugu Badiyiga Ali IV, Divisional chief of Kwapung, who chaired the programme praised the contributions of women to development at all levels and called for the dismantling of cultural constructs that hinder women’s progress.
“We need to sensitize men and break the cultural barriers to achieve the change we want to see in the coming years where women would not be facing these unfair constraints in our political processes”.
The project was organised by CENSODEV in collaboration with the International Republican Institute funded by the United States Agency for International Development and implemented across five regions: Upper West, Upper East, North East, Bono East, and Western region with key activities in media mobilization campaigns, town hall outreach, market campaigns, door-to-door engagement, and the dissemination of educational materials in promoting women empowerment.
GNA