By Mildred Siabi-Mensah,
Takoradi, Dec. 18, GNA – A total of 64 women have filed to participate in the upcoming District Level Election (DLE) in all 14 districts of the Western Region.
This represents 5.3 per cent of the total number of 1,198 candidates standing for the elections.
For the unit committee elections, 382 women, accounting for 11.2 per cent, and 3,018 men are contesting.
Mr Lan Kwame Tugbenu, the Deputy Western Regional Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the figures gave a snail pace achievement on the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality and the need for men to support women to take up such higher offices to contribute to national development.
The Goal-Five of the SDGs says Gender Equality was not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Though there had been progress over the last decades, the world is not on track to achieving gender equality by 2030.
Mr Tugbenu said the Commission had undertaken numerous education on the need for women’s voices to be heard in all aspects of society and prayed that those goals would be realized in no time.
He said many citizens had also expressed concern over the voting days in the country, particularly on the 2024 general election, which would coincide with the Sabbath and thus may prevent certain religious sects from participating in the process.
“What the people are asking for is a definite day be it a holiday or not to enable them to exercise their franchises,” he said.
Mr Tugbenu advised voters to take along their voter identify cards to the polling stations on Tuesday, December 19, from 0700 to 1700 hours to cast their ballots.
GNA