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21.03.2015 Letter

LETTER TO NPP

By Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF Ghana)
LETTER TO NPP
21.03.2015 LISTEN

16th March, 2016

Hon. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo
The Flagbearer and Leader
New Patriotic Party
National Headquarters
Accra

Dear Hon. Nana Akufo-Addo

PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE CASE FOR INCREASING THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE PARLIAMENT OF 2016

WiLDAF Ghana wishes the NPP a successful 2016 General Election Primary process.

As you start your discussions on the modalities for conducting your primaries, we wish by the platform of this letter to remind you of your statements of commitment (both oral and written) made on various political and civil society platforms and also alluded to in your manifestos in the lead up to the 2012 general elections, to put in measures to increase the representation of women in your party structures and other political decision making positions including Parliament. We are also by this letter making proposals of some measures that can be adopted in order to contribute to increasing the participation and representation of women in the political process.

Though we applaud the Affirmative Action policies adopted by most political parties including the NPP in the lead up to the 2012 general elections which among other factors contributed to some marginal increase in the number of women who entered parliament, when this marginal increase in the number of women in the 2013-2016 parliament is analyzed within the context of the total number of seats (i.e. 30 women out of a total of 275 seats) or 10.9%, women's representation is still very low compared with men. Again, in terms of political appointments, women formed only 19.4% of ministers (18 out of the 93 Substantive Ministers and Deputy Ministers). Also, only 412 women were elected out of the 6093 District Assembly Members elected in 2010. These figures fall way below the critical mass that women need to be able to have greater capacity to contribute to the development discourse and to make meaningful impact in the lives of women and children in Ghana.

Indeed it has become apparent from the hints we are picking from the political environment that even the seats of the current 30 women in parliament are under serious threat from mostly male aspirants.
It is therefore urgent that some bold and unconventional steps are taken by political parties including the NPP to sustain the momentum by first of all retaining the number of seats currently being held by women and secondly putting in measures to increase the number of women in the 2017-2020 parliament over the current 2013-2016 figures.

Commitment made by the New Patriotic Party in the lead up to the 2012 General Elections and its aftermath
We outline below the specific promises, policy statements and commitments made by the NPP during the Women's Dialogue with Political Parties held on 27th September, 2012 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Centre and hosted by WiLDAF Ghana, FIDA Ghana, The Hunger Project Ghana and Gender Centre (all women's rights organization) under the “We Know Politics” programme and on other Civil Society Platforms.

“Locally and internationally, the realization has finally dawned that exclusion of women from governance is a major factor in the underdevelopment of most countries as the society is deprived of the benefit of their expertise, knowledge and skills. The empowerment of women is essential for the achievement of both transparent and accountable governance and for sustainable development as well. Equal participation of both sexes in decision making will provide a balance that accurately reflects the composition of society and this will strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning. This in turn will help us attain the constitutional imperative of gender balance in all aspects of public life. The increased participation of women in politics and governance will create a new political culture and help sanitise the system as they bring a different focus and perspective to matters generally.…To encourage more women to take up the mantle of leadership in our country, we intend to pursue the following initiatives;

• we will promote legal backing for affirmative action in Ghana and will give effect to such a legislation
• allocate 30% of all appointed public positions to women at all levels
• the NPP will identify potential women candidates early and mentor/groom them for leadership as a crucial first step
• supporting women candidates financially and back the public funding of political parties which have an agreed minimum number of women in Parliament
• as most voters vote for the party and not for the individual, we will endeavour to field women in our winnable seats by instituting a voluntary quota.
• as far as possible, we will encourage suitable women candidates to stand for elections by not subjecting them to ruinous primaries.
• the NPP will conduct voter education and educate their members on women's rights under the constitution.” [emphasis ours]- (see the statement read on behalf of NPP by Hon Ursula Owusu at the Women's Dialogue with Political Parties held at the College of Physicians and Surgeons on 27th September 2012)

Recommendation and call to Action

We therefore call on the NPP to consider the following proposals going forward as you start discussions on the modalities for their 2016 general election primaries. Kindly note that we have a similar request to the NDC and other parties with representation in Parliament

1. The 16 NPP women in Parliament contest their primaries unopposed.

2. In addition to the proposal in 1 above, the NPP could allocate 30% of the seats in each of the 10 Regions for only women to contests at the primaries.

3. The NPP and all political parties must work with the Electoral Commission to allocate 30% of Parliamentary Constituencies for only women from all political parties to contest (for instance in Greater Accra Region 30% of the 34 seats which is 11 should be reserved for only women to contest across all parties)

4. The NPP together with all political parties adopt a policy to wave totally or reduce by minimum of 50% the filing fees for contesting the Parliamentary Primaries for women

5. The NPP and all political parties make provisions for financial assistance to women candidates contesting on their tickets during the 2016 general elections.

We trust this letter would form part of your discussions and inform your decisions in setting modalities for the conduct of Parliamentary primaries towards the 2016 general elections.

For any further discussions please contact Frank Bodza, the WiLDAF Ghana Programme Manager in charge of Women's Participation in Governance on 0209211931 or [email protected]
Yours sincerely,

Melody Darkey
National Programme Coordinator (Ag)
CC:
1. National Chairman
2. General Secretary
3. National Women's Organizers
4. National Organizers
5. National Youth Organizers
6. The Women Caucus in Parliament

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